K-Rino Interviews Thread

[The Ruler 09]

DJ Cool Waters – There aren’t too many rappers I can think of who could release 3 albums in a year without putting out projects that feel rushed and with lots of “filler tracks”, after being in the game for so long how do you manage to keep up the drive to continue releasing so much new material and also keep it to such an incredibly high standard?
K-Rino – well that’s an obligation that I have to the people who support my music..I cant slack on quality one bit. These days most artists drop once a year if that..usually its 1 project every 2-3 yrs. I wanna break that mold and set a standard that other artists have to respect. I’m not a mainstream rapper but I would hope that any mainstream rapper who knows about me would see my work ethic and try to match it..but my main focus is for underground artists to step it up.
DJ Cool Waters -Do you never get writers block?! What number black book (book of rhymes) are you on now?
K-Rino – Nah I don’t get writer’s block because I’m not gonna sit up for hours struggling to come up with lyrics lol..if its not there on a particular day or night I’ll just close the book and come back another time. Its not good in my opinion to force it. The best work flows naturally. Also, so called writer’s block comes from an artist reaching a ceiling in their knowledge. I think that if you continuously put information in your brain you’ll always have something to write about. As for the black books I’m currently on number 12.
DJ Cool Waters – You recently released two albums on the same day, tell us about these albums and why did you decide to do this instead of releasing them as a double CD?
K-Rino – Yeah well they have 2 different identities so I didn’t want them to be a double CD. theRAPeutic is more of a project that goes into our minds and tries to unlock solutions to mental scars etc. Its basically saying rap is therapy for me as the writer and you as the listener..plantation rebellion speaks for itself. its about bringing us out of a slave mentality and rebelling against the forces that have enslaved our thoughts ad actions..taking control of our destiny.
DJ Cool Waters – You are very much a part of Houston’s rich rap history, alongside other legends such as Scarface, UGK and the late DJ Screw, I recently saw an interview on YouTube where Z-Ro said you were his biggest musical influence, have you seen this video and how do you manage to remain so humble amongst all the much deserved praise you receive, not just from rappers but also from fans from all over the World?
K-Rino – yeah I saw it..its always an honor when a great artist like Z-Ro gives u a compliment. I’m thankful to god that people still view me as being relevant so my thing is to make sure I don’t prove them wrong. Staying humble is as simple as understanding that we do NOTHING of ourselves..god is the source of our gifts so for us to be overcome by arrogance because of accolades bestowed on us by man is a disrespect to the creator who gave us the talent. What would we be without HIM? and what would we be without the people who support and buy the music? so I’m humbled that they show us love.
DJ Cool Waters -Its clear from your lyrics you are an extremely intelligent guy, where do you get all your information from, what TV shows/channels do you watch, books do you read, which internet sites do you regularly visit?
K-Rino – The source of my info is the teachings of the most honorable Elijah Muhammad and the nation of Islam, all the knowledge I speak comes from THAT man’s teachings and his books. He’s the tree that any good fruit I bear falls from simple and plain.

DJ Cool Waters – Your well documented past as a battle rapper also inspires much of your lyrical content, including your extremely popular “Flo Session” tracks, what do you think of today’s battle scene and would you ever be interested in battling any of these guys?
K-Rino – yeah that’s how I came up…before I ever thought about making records I was in the streets battling. going to war with local rappers in my city. I used to LIVE for that..the battle scene today is intense. I love the way these dudes get down..they’re great. As far as me gettin in it.. I’m not really interested. It would probably take a lot of money lol. Truthfully at 43,i don’t have the passion for that aspect anymore.
DJ Cool Waters – I’ve lost count of how many solo albums you have released I’m thinking its near the 30 mark, out of all of these albums which one is your personal favorite and why?
K-Rino – Annihilation of the evil machine is my personal favorite.i just think its my most complete project to date..I covered everything
DJ Cool Waters – You have many references to God in your lyrics, including the song “Everyday” which could be considered by some as a Christian track but you have also exposed some religious beliefs and even rapped about some interesting findings on the King James Bible in the song “Surface Dwellers”, I have read that you are a Muslim, you have also said to me in the past that its not about Muslim or Christianity but about the truth, can you break that down? what are your personal beliefs and why?
K-Rino – I AM a Muslim. I think the misconception is that there are NO similarities between Islam and Christianity. while there are great differences between the 2..the fact is that they are rooted in a lot of the same principles. a Christian is one who strives to be Christ-like and crystallized into oneness with god..a Muslim is one who submits his/her will to do the will of god. Truth transcends labels. People sometimes go into defense mode or attack mode as soon as they are made aware of the label (Muslim, Christian, Jew etc). I think that dialogue,(respectful dialogue) will give better understanding. We can agree to disagree without being disagreeable.

DJ Cool Waters – You’re a rare breed of rapper in the sense that you don’t drink, Smoke, do drugs or even eat meat, why is this?
K-Rino – Well I was blessed at an early age to learn the dangers of eating meat and this was before the use of drugs and hormones in the meat was common knowledge. of course as a Muslim I don’t eat pork. As for smoking drinking etc..I cant give credit to religion for that..its just something I never had a desire to do.
DJ Cool Waters – Which Christian rappers are you aware of and do you rate any of them?
K-Rino – I’m aware that they are out there..but I cant give u ONE name. There’s actually a brother right here from Houston that’s very popular but I cant remember his name.
DJ Cool Waters – For people who haven’t heard your music, what would be a good song of yours for them to get a good introduction to your music?
K-Rino – that would depend on what type of rap they wanna hear..you got cats who are lyric heads, you got people who are into the governmental/conspiracy type stuff, the real life stuff..it just depends..all I can say is that I got a song for all of um.
You can purchase K-Rino’s music from southparkcoalition.us or you can buy it from iTUNES.

 

[The Ruler 09]

I caught up with Houston legend and South Park Coalition leader K-Rino shortly after the release of his ‘Book Number 7′ LP in the summer of 2007 for Hip-Hop Connection magazine. And with his new album ‘Speed Of Thought’ set to drop in September, Southern Hospitality proudly presents the interview in full, available for the first time. Enter the mind of a lyrical legend…
You and Scarface started Houston rap in the early ’80s, right?
It wasn’t just me and ‘Face, there was people that came before us even. You had people like Wicket Cricket, Jazzy Red, and there was people who started around the same time I did like Klondike Kat and Dope-E [both members of Rino’s South Park Coalition army] – those guys might have started a year or two before me. I just was fortunate enough to be one of the first artists in Houston to release a record. I released my first single in a group called Real Chill in ’87. The original Ghetto Boys [original spelling], before Scarface and Willie D joined the group, they dropped the same year, so those records were really the first two records to drop out of the city of Houston. And I was definitely the first one to drop out of South Park. So, we wasn’t the first, but we was right there.
What was the scene like back then?
It was real primitive back then because it was new. Hip-hop was just being exposed on a nationwide and a worldwide scale. It was just starting to bloom and blossom on a mainstream scale with people like Run DMC, Whodini and Kurtis Blow. Back then we was just doing it for the fun because we used to admire those groups, but once we got to the point where we started realising we could make records as well, then the scene started accelerating a little more and it’s been going non-stop since then.
People treat hip-hop from New York’s golden era as being somehow more authentic than southern rap from the same period, how does that make you feel as someone who’s been rapping since ‘83?
Well, I disagree when they say it’s not as authentic as New York hip-hop from the same era because we grew up in that golden era, so we’re rooted in that era. Now, a lot of the stuff that we did was definitely influenced and based on artists that was doing it in New York. We admired those cats, we respected them and a lot of what we did was based off of them. Now if they were to say it’s not the same now as it was in the golden era then I would agree, because we were on some major, major heat back then and Houston has a lot of respectability in the underground.
K-Rino – Everything’s Alright
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Do you feel any sense of fatherly pride when you see young Houston artists getting rich and famous?
Yeah, actually I do. It’s more big brotherly as opposed to fatherly, it’s just a situation where those guys came up listening to our music and we had some degree of influence on them and when we come across them the majority of them tell us that and pay homage and show love to us, so it’s a situation where I’m proud of anybody that comes out of Houston that’s doing it big on the mainstream level, I just want the subject matter to improve. I want the relevance of topics to improve. And I think that’s one of the things that’s missing from the Houston scene and that’s contributing to the lack of longevity of some of these artists. They remain stagnant because of the superficial subject matter and their light goes out after a short period of time.
What separates K-Rino from your average rapper?
Relevance – the blessing of having the ability to be timeless in subject matter. The greatest thing is to be able to put in a record you made 10 years ago and have people not know if you made it 10 years or 10 days ago. And I think that’s because of the things that I’ve been blessed with and a lot of the people from SPC are blessed with, based on the fact that we came up in an era where diverse topics and subject mater was the order of the day. You couldn’t make an album with 10, 15 songs on it and you talking about the same thing on every song, you had to mix it up. That’s the purpose of an album. People tend to tell me that the words I speak on my records still hold meaning and still carry weight today, even when its some of the older stuff. So I know that the biggest quality you can have as an artist, whether its rap, R&B or whatever genre of music you’re into, is timeless music that can span generations and bridge the gap between generations. and can pick up new fans and new listeners that might have been in diapers when you first started doin’ your thing, but now they jumped on board and say ‘I’m a fan’.
K-Rino – What U Gonna Do
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Is it hard to make a living when you’re not signed to a major label?
Not where we from. Houston is the independent record label capital of the world. Because we came from the south, and they don’t respect the south, the east coast look at us for some reason as having a lack of intelligence and look at us like we dumb. They never respected us. It was always anything associated with the south was below them. So we had to start our own labels because the major labels wouldn’t sign us. And when they did sign us, the deals were so beat up and messed up that eventually we would either lose the deal or just get out of it because it was nothing that was ever in our best interests. So we started our own labels and sold tens of thousands of records independently by going through regional distributors, making eight dollars a unit as opposed to being on a major and maybe making less than a dollar a unit. Down here we making more money than guys that own major labels and we selling 50,000 units and make more than those cats that’s going gold on majors. So we really pioneered that out of necessity because nobody wanted to deal with us. So now they respect our hustle, they respect the fact that we doin’ it the way we do it, but they still don’t respect us from an intelligence standpoint because they feel superior to us for some reason. We’ve got some of the most intelligent businessmen and business-minded individuals to ever enter the game, but because of the southern drawl that we have they think we country so we slow. Hip-hop originated on the east coast and we all know that, we respect that and honour that, but at the same time you’ve got to let it go at some point and respect the fact that God blesses everybody. Being first, that’s a blessing in itself but don’t disrespect people who came along and grab the torch or baton and run with it – now we’re all in this together.

Houston was in the spotlight a couple of years back with the success of tracks like ‘Still Tippin’’ and ‘Sittin Sidewayz’, but now the spotlight seems to be moving westward to the Bay Area. What can Houston do to maybe get back in the spotlight?
The first thing that has to happen is the artists who are already in that position have to grow. Because you cant talk about rims and cars and sippin’ drank forever. It’s so continuous, its so redundant, but it doesn’t stop. And that’s what irritates artists like myself who’ve been doing it for years, who’ve seen it when it was good out here. And that’s what irritates people from other regions and parts of the world and gives Houston a black eye. Because any time we go anywhere around the country or the world, one of the first things to come out of their mouths is ‘what’s up, you got some surp?’ But don’t everybody mess with that stuff. That’s not what Houston’s all about. So, the fact of the matter is, the second thing they have to do, is those labels who are reaching down and saying Houston got something going on, they gotta stop searching for that type of artist and they gotta be diverse in their search and say ‘let’s see what else they got going on down here. We got some lyricists down here. We got some political rappers down here. We got everything any other major city or region has as far as talent, we got it down her in Houston. They just have to reach for it. It’s like a line of robots that are copies of a formula that worked five years ago.
K-Rino – Come On Down
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You’ve been described as a soul nourisher, why do you think you get so much respect as a lyrical emcee?
One reason is because longevity always constitutes a level of respect to people, because they can look at it and say ‘this man has been able to do this for this many years and … make a libving and …’ – and that warrant some respect in itself. Also, the things that I try to talk about are things that can help an individual out of a situation. Me telling you how pretty my watch is and how many diamonds I’ve got in my mouth is not gonna help you when your lights are about to get cut out or your husband is beating you or you’re hooked on dope. Those things are not going to help you, so I try to speak to those things in certain songs so if a person does come across one of my CDs they can possibly get something out of that that will nourish their soul and maybe turn them in a direction that might help them. The best thing that somebody will tell me is that my music helped them through a hard time or lifted them up. I think that’s what garners me a little respect and makes people appreciate what I do.
You frequently rap about spirituality and you dissect a lot of the myths perpetuated by different interpretations of Christianity especially, do you think there’s a need for more religious debate through rap and what do you think God has planned for your career?
I think that rap is a platform that allows that type of expression. Whether there’s a need for it is a matter of opinion. I would say possibly there is a need for it especially if you feel lies have been told to a society and you have come across the truth to those falsehoods, then yeah that needs to be exposed and cleaned. If one of your missions in your music is to save lives and help people then yeah. I think God has put me in a position to learn that things that were being perceived as truth are falsehoods and, if I can prove them, it’s only right that I express it in my music. It’s an each one teach one concept. I’m blessed to know it, but I don’t talk like it was ‘of me’, like I created it. A lot of things I’ve learned and talk about in my music are directly from the teachings of the Honourable Elijah Muhammed, so I don’t take any credit for those things.

 

[The Ruler 09]

K-Rino – The World
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It’s hard to imagine any emcee, past or present, really handling you on the mic in terms of intelligence and delivery, do you think there’s anyone out there that stands a chance?
You know the thing is that I look at God as being such a great God that he’s not just gonna sprinkle one person with that kind of talent. God likes to prove over and over again that he’s God and he’s the supreme being. So, yeah, he gave me a strong dosage of it, I’m not gon’ lie, but I can listen to people like Canibus, KRS-One from back in the days, Chamillionaire from Houston, Papoose from New York, Rakim – there’s a lot of artists I came up to and some that have come after me, so I don’t ever put myself above anybody but I know that I can stand next to anybody. Don’t get it twisted, I can stand in the room and if a cipher break out I can hold my own with anybody, but I don’t put anybody down and try to say I’m superior or that nobody’s on my intelligence level because I don’t know what the next man knows. So I’m just grateful to be in the conversation. At the end of the day I just want to be in the conversation whey they talk about all the greats. I don’t mean the MTV or VH1 version of the 50 Greatest Rappers list, because they mean the watered-down cats. You’ll never see Canibus’s name on that list but it should be. You’ll never see mine on that list. But when the real conversation breaks out, and people who are knowledgeable on every region, every mainstream and underground artist are involved, when that conversation breaks out and my name’s in it, I’m cool. I’m cool.
K-Rino – The Canvas
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Your albums are always very cohesive, with strong concept tracks, messages and the tendency to educate more than entertain. Can you describe the mental process you go through when writing and recording a K-Rino album?
It’s funny because I’ve never told anybody this: when I write, I visualise people. I see people, I see faces when I write. I visualise people listening to the song as I’m writing it and visualise their response to the words I’m writing – and I know that helps because it gives me an idea of how they’re gonna react and what they’re gonna like. That’s why when I come up with a line and its a good line, I see people instantly. I try to look three or four times past the surface, so when I think of a good line I’m not going to stop after writing that line down, I’m gonna think of three or four other variations or ways to say it that could possibly make it better. So it’s a tedious process when I write, I can’t speak for anybody else but when I write it’s a tedious process and it’s very detailed. It’s like a film because once its recorded people will dissect it and trying to decipher the words, so I could put together a bunch of pretty words and flow it and say it nice and when it first touches your ear it sounds good, but when you break it down it gotta be right.
What is ‘Book Number 7’?
If you look on the cover there’s seven notebooks on the ground. A lot of people misunderstand and think it’s my seventh album. It’s not my seventh album, it’s my seventh rhyme book. In other words, all the songs and albums I ever made are contained in those particular books. Just by chance I started writing a new album at the beginning of starting a new book. So the first line I wrote was written on the first page of the seventh book. Number 7 of course is also the number of God, the number of perfection, so it was really right on time.
There’s a track ‘Imagination’ on your new album that’s almost impossible to decipher, can you explain it and has anyone cracked it yet?
[Laughs] ‘Imagination’ was really just a song where I was trying to really go deep and just twist people up like that. Sometimes I get confused when I dip back through it but I was in a zone where I was locked into the full comprehension of where I was going with it. But really it’s just me making up a bunch of stuff, crazy thoughts. I don’t get high but in my mind I was thinking that people that smoke week or get high are gonna love this song. Put it his …. To what the next thought might be.It migh have been a blade of grass or a door knob. It’s jus t a situation where whatever particular person that I was think ing of whe.. I made from him of and whatever that person though up that made him think of him. It could go on and on. That songs .. have never stop.
K-Rino – Imagination
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On ‘The Me You Don’t See’ you say “Ignorance seems to get more blessing than realness” – why do think that is?
Because the masses of the people are ignorant. The masses of the people don’t have knowledge, wisdom and understanding, so ignorance is more relatable. Like I was saying, when people are talking about sippin surp …. And booty bouncin’, –and that’s cool, whatever turns you on – but at the end of the day its not saving lives, its not helping, its really hindering. So ignorance is getting more blessings than realness because these are the records that’s going gold and getting played in the club or on the radio. So realness is a turn off to people because if an artist doesn’t know how to relay it and comes across as preachy its gonna turn people off because, like you said, they want to be entertained rather than educated. People would rather be fed garbage than good food. People eat donuts and candy all day but when somebody says you gotta eat these vegetables, they like ‘ah man I don’t want that’.
K-Rino – The Me You Don’t See
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How different is K-Rino the rapper to K-Rino the man, do you philosophise to your peers as well as your fans?
K-Rino the man is still struggling to be a manifestation of some of the things I write about in my music. When you hear me say things on ‘The Me You Don’t See’, that’s really me in confession. It’s me telling you that I’m still struggling with the same things you go through. I’m no different, I’m no saint. As a person I’m still working on myself. I don’t smoke or drink but I have other issues that I struggle with just like anybody else. I had song on ‘Worst Rapper Alive’ called ‘Who Am I?’ It went [raps]: “Who am I? I’m only a man just like you/So don’t put me on a pedestal, I’m just like you”.
It seems like the mental process you go through and the album end product makes for a very personal relationship between you and the listener…
Without a question man, and that’s how it has to be. It has to be a mirror. I have to see myself in my words and when that person listens to that CD they have to be able to see themselves. That’s where the connection comes in. I believe a person has to get their money’s worth because the ones that still have faith and go and buy records are getting cheated when they’re getting 20 tracks with only two good songs on it.
You’ve got a mix CD out on Wolftown Recordings – an independent British label – what drew you to Wolftown since you’re not someone who generally does the mixtape thing?
They reached out to me some years ago because my buddy LATE listens to my music. We connected and I just seen how cool those cats was and they were some individuals that really really believed in my music and that’s always a good thing when you have people who really feel the same way you do. And since then Tricksta, LATE and Jai Boo and all those cats have been on a quest to get me heard in the UK and I’m really grateful to them for that because its like they’re going out of their way to make sure that I’m heard. And I listened to their album ‘The Villains’ album and now me and a few of my SPC boys have been a fan of them. It’s just a situation that was meant to happen and I’m glad to be collaborating with them on this mixtape.
K-Rino – ‘A Lyrical Legend’ is out now on Wolftown Recordings. ‘Book Number 7′ and ‘Triple Darkness’ volumes 1-3 are also out now on Black Book International. ‘Speed Of Thought’ is out in September.
A shorter version of this interview was published in Hip-Hop Connection magazine.

 

[The Ruler 09]

THE MAVEN
Adramatic.com: What inspired you to do this song?

K-Rino: Well i always like to write storytelling songs and i got a lot of different concepts over the years so i was trying to do something for the new album and the Maven idea came to me. I like to make songs that people can visualize while they are listening.

Adramatic.com: When did you write it?

K-Rino: I wrote it i think in late 2012,not sure.

Adramatic.com: How many time did it take to write it? Because there are no blank, no pause, and every word fits perfectly, everything is rhyming so i guess it was a big work behind it.

K-Rino: I think it took me a few days to put it all together. When u do stories like that u wanna always make sure it all makes sense so i had to go over it a few times to make sure the plot was right.

Adramatic.com: Why did you choose this production?

K-Rino: Well my homie Blac Forest sent me the beat and i felt like it fit perfectly for the song. I wrote the song before i got the beat. The beat was sinister and dark so it matched the story.

Adramatic.com: How would you describe your song?

K-Rino: I think it could be made into a movie or a really good video lol.

I JUST WANNA KNOW
Adramatic.com: What inspired you to do this song?

K-Rino: Well i made that song for people who question what life is about. We all get depressed and wish things were better so i made that to help people know that theyre not alone in that process.

Adramatic.com: When did you write it?

K-Rino: I wrote it around the same time as the rest of the album… like late 2012 or early 2013

Adramatic.com: Why did you choose this production?

K-Rino: The track is a more laid back mellow beat that people can just relax to so i liked it

Adramatic.com: How would you describe it?

K-Rino: I think its a song that people can relate to no matter how old or young they are
.
OBSTACLES
Adramatic.com: What inspired you to do this song?

K-Rino: Obstacles was produced by Moretime from Germany. I made that song to help people overcome problems in their life. To me it has an inspirational feel to it. I wanted to describe certain situations of life and make people see themeselves in the words. Then offer solutions.

LETTER TO THE LAW
Adramatic.com: Where did you get the idea for the concept? Because that was funny as hell. Especially the line with the 65 yrs old woman haha.

Do you plan to do a music video of it? Because i’m sure it’s gonna be really successfull.

K-Rino: I made it like that because the police act like they do NOTHING wrong and they always get away with mistreating the people. Especially in the black communities.so i wanted to make them feel stupid… lol. Not sure if i’ll do a video to it though.
This song almost didnt make it on the album… I didnt really like it at first but i decided to put it on there anyway. I’m glad i put it on the cd because its the most popular song on the cd.
Lazyboy did the beat.

IMPERFECT
Adramatic.com: This is one of the realest track i ever heard, especially by a rapper, and it’s very interesting.
So what do you need to change in you to be perfect?

K-Rino: I dont have enough time in a day to list the things i need to change about myself lol. I just try to take it day by day and pray to Allah(God) for the will to get better.and pray for his mercy. I think the best way to relate to people thru music is to make them see that you are just like them. Most artists make themselves out to be like super heroes. im not like that.

Adramatic.com: Did you take some resolutions for 2014?

K-Rino: I dont do resolutions. I try to improve daily, not yearly.

TOWER OF SADNESS
Adramatic.com: What inspired you to write this song?

K-Rino: I made this song to help people who suffer from depression. A lot of people are victims of this and the wicked governments use these unhealthy drugs to treat them and the drugs only make it worse. I try to urge people to lean on God to help them.
Adramatic.com: Why did you choose this production?

K-Rino: I liked the beat because it has the old classical music in it and it fits the mood of the concept.

STRUGGLE ADDICTION
Adramatic.com: What inspired you to write this song?

K-Rino: This song is for people who keep going back to the same things that hurt them. Sometimes we never learn and keep repeating our mistakes. Its like we’re addicted to the struggles..and we’re scared to make the necessary changes. Moretime did this beat as well. You have to be selective with who u help.. Its ok to help people but once u realize that people are using you then its also ok to cut them loose and stop dealing with them.. U have to ALWAYS look out for yourself and be true to your REAL friends and family.

GENERAL
Adramatic.com: When they hear you rap they go “Eh, that’s cool, yeah he okay”
When they hear me rap they go “Ooh, hol’ up, rewind, what’d he say?”
I got to be honest, i rewinded your songs a lot of time, sometimes i even stop the music to take my time to read the lyrics because the majority of the lines are important, which is never the case with other albums.
So how do you proceed to write a track? Because to be so great you got to take your time, write it, re-write it etc…

K-Rino: Yeah u have to take your time and make sure you give the best of yourself when you write. People WILL rewind and analyze the words you say so you gotta pay attention to detail at all times. I make mistakes sometimes but for the most part i stay focused on being creative and precise.

Adramatic.com: You also have a few battle/egotrip tracks with some lines that are extraordinarly impressive, how do you do to come with such crazy punchlines?
K-Rino: Well i been writing punchlines long before it became popular..im a fan of run dmc and ll cool j and other who had great clever lins back in the days.so i always worked to get better at doing that.its about being clever and out thinking the other guys in the game.

Adramatic.com: With all these great/interesting/important tracks in this album, which one is your favorite, and which one is the most important?

K-Rino: MY FAVORITE is probably imperfect because i got to vent some frustrations on that one.and obstacles is probably the most important because of the concept itself.
Adramatic.com: Was it important for you to do an album all by yourself, without featurings? Even for the chorus?

K-Rino: Well lately i haven’t been using many features. I may go back to working with other artists soon but I’m in a place now where i don’t like to wait on anyone. Once i get in my creative mode i dont like to stop, and if i think a hook will be better with me doing it, i will.

Adramatic.com: DJ Premier put you on his favorite songs list from 2013, how does it feels?

K-Rino: It was a big honor. He’s one of the greatest dj’s/producers in hiphop history. His words and opinions are respected worldwide so if he chooses one of my songs as the 12th best song he heard in a whole year out of thousands of songs he listens to in a year, that’s huge for me.

Adramatic.com: What was your favorite song/album of the year?

K-Rino: I dont have one, i really dont listen too much to be honest.

Adramatic.com: Anything else to tell?

K-Rino: Yessir. I wanna thank GOD for blessing me and providing me with people who listen to and support them music all these years. Make sure to buy my music from itunes and from our website South Park Coalition : Real Rap from Houston, TX since 1986

Adramatic.com: Do you plan to come in Europe soon?

K-Rino: Yeah im coming to the uk this year. Hopefully in may.

Adramatic.com: What’s your next project?

K-Rino: I’m not working on anything new right now. I’m just promoting the latest releases, but i know i’ll be dropping 2-3 albums before the year is over.

Thanks to K-Rino for this dope interview regarding his classic The Maven and congratulations for the release of the Greatest Hip-Hop Album of 2013 !

 

[The Ruler 09]

K-Rino Interview
01/19/14 16:42

All you guys living in a fantasy world this interview is not for you! We sat down with H-Town legend K-rino to talk about more than just hip-hop!
Handsonhiphop: You have been doing this for a long time, but have consistently stayed away from the mainstream, what is the one main reason for this?
K-Rino: Well in my early years in the industry,i was no different from most artists..trying to send off demos to get a record deal..but as my knowledge of the business increased so did my dislike for what the mainstream ultimately stood for and the negative result that it had on alot of artists' careers..the lack of creative control was probably the biggest turn off for me..i dont like people telling me what i can or can't say..plus i like to own 100 percent of my work..
Handsonhiphop: Why do you believe that mainstream hip-hop has become what it has today? The lack of quality in the music and the message on the radio is 99% wack!
K-Rino: Well its a cookie cutter/just add water type of game now...the labels dont seem to really be concerned with artist longevity as much as they are with quick hits by fly by night/one-hit wonder type of rappers who probably wont be around next year.i think it saves them alot of money that way.and the rappers dont know any better so they sign 360 deals and other kinds of contracts that essentially give all their power and music to the label..its a lack of knowledge..also,theres an absolute plot to dumb down the people(particularly the inner city youth) so the ignorant rap is promoted and the conscious rap is buried..
Handsonhiphop: One of your most popular records is ‘grand deception’ let’s talk a little bit about that, firstly what inspired you to make this record?
K-Rino: Well im a believer in the teachings of the honorable elijah muhammad and i've learned so much under that body of knowledge and wisdom so i wanted to put a song together that covered alot of falsehoods and unknown information that i was blessed to learn.when i say unknown i mean unknown to the average person in the street.naturally the people who perpetuate the lies know the truth but alot of that b.s. has been passed over as facts for years..so grand deception was me just combining several categories of info in an attempt to expose the perpetrators of it.
Handsonhiphop: Did you ever receive any heat for making such a record, and where you ever… concerned about the potential repercussions?,
K-Rino: Well 'heat' isnt a word i would use in association with how a song is accepted.i dont fear that.of course i get a little backlash and some negative words here and there..even some differing opinions but thats fine..it lets me know im doin the right thing.i embrace the so called heat because it usually comes from the very people who support the lies im exposing.my belief is that if God is pleased then i could care less about what anyone else thinks.lastly,if someone has a problem with the song,just do the research for yourself and argue with that.we should never fear 'repercussions' for telling the truth..thats why i used that title grand deception..because im directing the truth at the grand deceivers..
Handsonhiphop: Do you feel there are any rappers who are representing the culture who have signed major deals or are still signed to majors?
K-Rino: Not sure..i dont listen to much mainstream to know.i DO know that the conscious artists have been driven to the underground mainly because of the knowledge they represent so the labels will NEVER allow that kind of rap to see the light of day like it did in the days of public enemy and bdp etc.they like to see young black people killing and disrespecting themselves..it makes their job easier..
Handsonhiphop: The Satanism ‘fad’ seems to be very much the in thing in mainstream hip-hop, it’s been in hip-hop for a while, but now these clowns don’t even hide it, Why do you feel these rappers are promoting this so heavy and who do you feel is to blame or is/are the main culprits?
K-Rino: My optimism always makes it hard for me to believe that some of these cats would subscribe to any representation of satanism because i would never KNOWINGLY do it.however,i do know that some people will do crazy things to "make it".so my honest take on it is that there are some who do it willingly and knowingly,and there are others who are naive and unaware of the symbolism that they partake in. As far as who is to blame..i blame the very powers that provided the rappers with the platform in the first place..and it consist of labels,corporations,and even government..the entire entertainment industry is controlled by individuals who dont have the best interests of the audience or the artist in mind.the goal is to flood the market with decadence and filth whether it be in music,movies or whatever..we as artists have to root ourselves in god and never compromise our integrity or release material that will destroy the people all for the sake of making a dollar.its bigger than money.
Handsonhiphop: A lot of people feel that, basically what you have addressed in many of your songs regarding Satanism, the government for example is all fake, the government, the media are all good people who are fighting for our good a freedom, yayyyy *pause*, what do you say to these people?
K-Rino: Well theres a scripture that says that the devil would deceive the whole world.one of the primary means of deception is media..the same media who create climates of war,hate,mistrust,etc though propaganda and most cases outright lies.this contributes largely to people having this holy image of the u.s. government.everyone is the bad guy and america is angelic which is actually the opposite. As i said earlier,the goal is to keep the people blind deaf and dumb.population control comes in many forms..not just food,chemicals in the air,water etc..they also use entertainment to destroy us.such a great number has been done on the minds of the people that truth is made to look like falsehood..but time will tell who was the real liar.god is in control
Handsonhiphop: If you could change one thing in this modern-day, new hip-hop, what would it be?
K-Rino: I would give each artist a sharper sense of priority..i think we tend to place value on the wrong things(cars,jewelry,money,women,and other material or superficial nonsense)..how many rappers rap about owning land,or the importance of agriculture,or starting 'legit' businesses,unification and pooling of resources,proper education? our priorities are messed up.
Handsonhiphop: We all saw Lord Jamar give his opinion on Kanye and ASAP Rockys skirts, or ‘long t-shirt’, What is your opinion on the dress in hip-hop?
K-Rino: It all ties back in to the plot to destroy our image as black men and to feminize our male role models..if a MAN can put on a dress and proudly parade around in it on national tv,then theres something backwards about that.the deeper impact is based on the possibilty of the young men who look up to them following suit and now u got young men in the hood walkin round with skirts on.so after that trend catches on,what effect does that have on the young women? they dont see a MAN anymore,they see someone displaying female qualities which is against their nature and eventually can lead to the woman turning to other women for the comfort and qualities that by nature should be received from a MAN.this is a wicked science that is being put into effect on a daily basis.they'll offer you money to do it but no amount of money should be worth your manhood or womanhood because the sisters in entertainment have it just as bad or worse..being asked to wear overly revealing outfits or in some cases being asked to be butt naked or or damn close to it in order to appeal to the masses or sell a album or a magazine or a movie or a reality show..this is passed off as entertainment and/or expressing themselves artistically,but its really a manifestation of satan's mind and we're the ones who display it with no shame or remorse or even the slightest concern about the negative impact it has on the community.
Handsonhiphop: Do you have a top 5 D.O.A.?
K-Rino: yeah and this in no particular order( krs-one,t-la rock,face,run dmc,big daddy kane) but it changes from time to time lol..so next month it could be a little different.
Handsonhiphop: What’s next for you on a personal level? And where can the people stay up to date with you?
K-Rino: Just more cds,shows and trying to spread a message that can change the world ..

 

[The Ruler 09]

THE GOVERNMENT NAMES K-RINO INTERVIEWthe dude that first put it down for houston, recruited all the realest from his neighborhood and figured out how to put out records without a major label. he's messed with all the major figures, screw, klondike kat, z-ro, geto boys (look closely and you might see him in their new video), ganksta nip (the south park psycho!), j prince, point blank, and a hundred other rappers and producers from the south. you can hear k-rino in chamillionaire's wordy punchlines and z-ro's sad raps to jesus christ.

he spit his first verse on record almost twenty years ago and he's still putting shyt out. check for that hitt list, new album, just dropped, and that family bizness, the s.p.c. click album. hit up the website and put in your order.


GN: so what were you listening to before you heard rap for the first time?

KR: before that i was like any other kid, jammin' michael jackson and whatever else my mother had in the house or on the radio at the time, mainly funk and r&b, 'cause I was raised in the 70s.

GN: what was the first rap track you ever heard?

KR: the first rap track i ever heard, i think, was either rappers delight by the sugar hill gang or maybe a kurtis blow song, i cant remember.

GN: do you remember the first rhyme you ever wrote?

KR: i remember writing for the first time but the actual rhyme, i can only remember parts of it, and most of those parts were lines that i bit from melle mel-- this was, like, in 1983.

GN: when did you meet dj screw for the first time?

KR: i met screw in high school, around '85, '86. i was in a corner in a hallway rappin and after i finished he walked up to me and gave me props and introduced himself as dj screw. and that was interesting, that people dont know that's always been his name, long before he invented the style of music that he's known for today. he was cool from the beginning and never changed even after he blew up.

GN: what did you think about slowed music the first time you heard it?

KR: when i first heard it, i thought of the days when you used to play with the record player and slow the tempo down and speed it up. but then i noticed that he was actually doing a mix and that it was method to the madness. all of sudden everybody was bumpin it and it caught on.

GN: do you still bump screw?

KR: i never really bumped screw. i was always a dude who liked the regular version of a song but i always respected what he did, and i still do.

GN: did you ever sip lean?

KR: nah, i don't do any drugs. i don't drink or smoke, never have. i understand the people that do and why some do it but its not for me, and i hope that those who do it will one day stop and realize the effect that drugs are having on them, physically and mentally-- even weed. we only get one life and one temple, feel me? and when you're young, we sometimes do things that seemingly dont have an effect on us but as you get older it catches up to you. i have my vices just like anyone else but drugs aint one of em-- not knockin you if you do, though.

GN: what did you think when z-ro got busted for codeine last year?

KR: i have no knowledge on the situation, so i dont have an opinion. even if i knew the whole story i wouldnt have a comment because, number one, it's not my place or anybody else's to speak on or spread another man's business or to judge him in any way; number two, we keep family business in the house, only sissys and punks gossip. i dont trust media, whether it be commercial media or what i like to call "ghetto media," where fools on the street take things that they see or hear and run around shootin off at the mouth about it. i dont know if it's true, and if it is, it still aint none of my business. all i do is base my assessment of people on how cool we are with one another and i defend my homies from that kind of talk and slander, true or not. it's two sides to every story, sometimes three, so don't condemn a man until he speaks his piece. even then, dont do it, cause it could be you tomorrow.

GN: are you planning on doing more records with him?

KR: that's always a possiblity. z-ro is very busy and he's handlin his business on a daily basis, but its always love when we cross paths and we always talk about doing more work together. i got love for that dude because despite all that he's been through, he always mentions me in his interviews and gives me props and a lot of people dont do that. so, i'm down with him and trae for whatever they need.

GN: what other rappers in houston would you want to work with?

KR: i dont have any one particular rapper that stands out in my mind. i'm the type of dude that i'll get down with anybody if you're real. i dont deal with fakes and frauds but if you come to me right, we can work. i respect all the rappers in houston, known or unknown, although i am lookin for the next young cat to blow up out of h-town.

GN: everyone is getting a deal right now, cham, the whole swishahouse click, slim thug...

KR: i love that. i'm happy for all those young brothas. they worked for what they got, nothing was handed to them. the beauty of it all is that they didn't have to go to college for five or ten years or take some course or sell out to get it, this came straight up out the hood and that's what's great about hip-hop. we defy the odds and the so-called standards of how to be successful in america. i hope they all do very well. the names you mentioned are northside artists, i'm glad the northside is gettin their props and showing that they got talent and skill because the southside held it down for so many years but now the north is reppin h-town and keepin the legacy strong.

GN: can you speak on the situation with face going at lil flip, saying he wasn't real with how he was holding down his neighborhood and shyt like that? some people are saying it was a bad move and he should have gone at him on a record if there was beef.

KR: to the people saying that he should have gone at him on a record, my question is, what's the difference? also, a man is entitled to his opinion. i don't know what flip does, or has or hasn't done, because i dont personally know flip, so it ain't my place to say what's what. as far as face goes, knowin how real face is, if he made a comment, then thats how he felt and whatever setting he did it in was the setting he was in at the time. face ain't the type of dude who's gonna waste time writing raps about people. from my view point, it seems like people keep asking him what he thinks about flip and he's just responding to what was asked. and i ain't personally read or seen where he said that, so i cant go all in like that. i'll just say what i always say, i hope that whatever the case is, it has a peaceful resolution.

GN: what do you think when you hear new york cats talking down on the south, like nas on 106&park talking about "c00nage" on the part of southern rappers?

KR: if he's speaking on southern personalities and people in general, then i would have a problem with it. but if he speakin on lyrical skills, i agree to an extent. but if he's sayin we ain't got no skills on a whole, then i got a problem with that because it's so many dudes out here that can rip with the best of em. it's a lot of tight rappers in the south, so respect is due. but once again i havent heard the comments.

GN: do you ever bump nas?

KR: a little-- very little. i loved ether.

GN: are you feeling any other new york rappers?

KR: i only jam old school new york rappers, krs, public enemy, t-la-rock, big daddy kane, rakim.

GN: did your experience with the nation of islam change the shyt you were writing about?

KR: yeah, it woke me up. i was always a conscious rapper but the nation gave me base to stand my words on and a belief system to funnel my lyrics through. it woke me up and expanded my knowledge, allowing me to feed others who need it through my music.

GN: when did you first get down with them?

KR: i got down with the nation in like '92.

GN: are you going to be voting in november?

KR: i wont be voting in the presidential election because until one of the candidates speaks on an agenda that will benefit black people and address our condition here in america, then i ain't tryin to hear what either one of em have to say. they're both fraud to me. voting for them would be like choosing between satan and the devil.

GN: aight. what was the last song you danced to?

KR: i dont dance at all. the last dance i think i did was back in like '84 at a house party, when i was 14. it was a slow drag. i only danced becausei felt like i had a chance to grab some booty. haha.

GN: describe the last car you drove.

KR: i've never owned a car, believe it or not. the last car i drove probably was my old man's truck.

GN: you just dropped the hitt list, right? who's on that?

KR: i got the whole s.p.c. on it except for klondike kat, who was on lock the majority of the time span in which i was recording the album. he got out in time to get on the radio version of one the songs but it ain't on the actual cd. also i got z-ro and bam and others on there too. if yall reading this and dont have the hitt list album yet, go to the store and get it or order it from me. i'll cut you a deal.

GN: last question. what else is coming out from s.p.c.?

KR: point blank and klondike kat got an album together. blank has two or three projects about to drop. and ganksta nip is in the process of puttin together a new cd. i got a new album already finished called fear no evil, coming next year, GOD willing. other than that, we just been try to push the current product that we have out. yall be lookin for all that, peace, GOD bless.

 

[The Ruler 09]

K-Rino Interview Part 1

Dating back to the early 80′s, K-Rino dropped his 1st album and has since continued to be one of the most consistent quality lyricists dropping multiple albums a year. I had the honor of chilling with the OG, chopping it about hip hop, his history and politics so take a moment and let the South Park Coalition General drop some knowledge on you. – @Jehuniko1

Jehuniko: What’s cracking with your new album The Annihilation of the Evil Machine?



K-Rino: The new album is getting a lot of positive feedback. We branching out our means of how we get to the people. I have a regional distribution Select-O-Hits who I’ve been with for about 7 years. Your availability is based on what stores order your product. As an indie label, my job, / your job, is to contact the stores and tell the stores to order your product. Then your job is to promote your CD in that area. As a fan, ask the Manager “do you carry this?” “Ok, who do you buy from?” If they mention Select-O-Hits, you can tell them. So ask for me, if they are interested, they work towards getting it in there. If they not interested, contact my label and well contact the store to make sure the store is aware.



South Park Coalition : Real Rap from Houston, TX since 1986 - SOUTH PARK COALITION, as well is a place where people can pay via PayPal. The Home page will direct will direct you to the forums, people can post info regarding all SPC related artists. From the present to the very 1st. Our fans are so great, they find stuff we don’t have access to, or didn’t know exist. Photos, form early as the 80’s. You can really get a grasp of the site. You can order music from most SPC artists on the site. In the mid 90’s, before the rise of the internet, we had a huge following. Now with the internet, people can find us again if they lost track of us.



I have my own record label, Black Book International, I control all of my product, my music, I’m the source of everything that has my name. There’s no other entity that controls me and my catalog. That’s been a blessing for me that there’s no puppet strings telling me what to say. A lot of artists that are not experienced and they have their albums, being told, this is going to be your 1st single. I’ve never been that kind of album. This situation is ideal, out of anytime I been with a label, it’s been bad, so this is ideal.



My upbringing in the game, even when help comes, it’s hard to relinquish that because im so used to doing myself. I learned by living it, not in school. We have people that are qualified that def. help. It comes with the territory, if I didn’t come up on the rough side of the mountain, I wouldn’t know. I learned those principles. The things I learned when I was 20, still apply. People aren’t doing the footwork anymore. When you put out an album, you go on the road. You do free shows, in stores, radio, college stations. These are the type of steps you take. You plant those seeds to expose yourself as an artist. With the major boom, 5-6 years back when Houston artists were getting signed, they seemed to forget the steps and went straight for the crown.



We need to bring back the record stores, people are too comfortable sitting in their computer chair, downloading, bootlegging albums. In Houston, I remember seeing record stores on every corner like they were liquor stores. I would have a hard time naming 10 in this city. Stores that housed legends are going out of biz; the record store was the only source. The computer is more convenient. The record store doesn’t realize there’s a guy walking around the Wal-Mart selling 3 burned albums for $10. We need to stop selling CD’s for $18.00. Also, the artists need to start taking pride in what they making. The artists are cheating the fans with the one single; just enough to fill an album with 1 single, but the album is filled with garbage. If the music is good enough, the people will still support it. That isn’t dead. When we were young, the actual CD was one thing, it was just as a much of a thrill to read the credits, the thank yous, who produced it. “Oh I didn’t know he was cool with Big Daddy Kane” for example. People don’t care about the process; we got to appreciate the journey, not just the destination. Its fun putting these together. Me and Justice talk about this all the time, its start as little idea, you can’t even hold in your hand, but the process takes it all the way into fruition and the abstract creates the concrete.



I read that you were the 1st person to put out a record in Houston?



Starting back in 1987, we were the 3rd people appx. to ever put out a record. The LA Rappers, called “MacGregor Park” and its known for basketball. All these people like Akeem Alajuan, mixed in with the local street legends. On Sundays, all the cars would come out, the girls, up to 5000 people would come out to the point that the cops would come out to break it up. This is the 1st record that I can remember coming out around 82-84, appx. Then came RapALot came with the 1st Geto Boys, not the ones you know. Then after that we came out, Real Chill was our group. South Park, on our side of town, we were the 1st. Real Chill, we met in school battling. When we starting working on music, my Dad, he was doing good financially and I told him I wanted to put out a record. So he financed everything, studio, he flew us around the country. My Dad, he a spare no expense type of dude, he would be introduced to different people and he would pay em to get us going. Anything they would tell us to do, we would do. Jack the Rapper convention in Atlanta; they said we needed to go so we would need. We flew to NYC mix done just one song. We were 16-17 when we did that. Going thru that process. Like when you watch the Jackson 5 movie, you see em building the song. People don’t do that anymore. Back then there wasn’t no pre-production. Producer makes it on the spot, all day long, we creating the concept, paying hourly, on the clock, $50 an hour, you paying the studio, producers.



I remember in LA, we went to one label, we sat in the lobby, and my Dad went into the office and about 10 minutes later my Dad stormed out the office. I never asked my Dad what happened. Profile, I sat down with all of them. Priority put out NWA, Gangsta Nip thri Rap A Lot, any label that would put out music like that with no restrictions, that’s what we liked. A label like Priority.



In LA, it was all about NWA. Offensive and beautiful!

And that production! That was the foundation.



Cats today, they don’t know about Jack the Rapper, why it was crucial to go there. People lost their grind, and the computer made it too easy.



I remember going, and they had the same conventions in Houston. I used to go with Murdah one, we knew we would always see someone famous. Like big artists not wanting to sign autographs. I had this thing, the more I liked an artist, the less I would say to them. My favorite artist was always KRS-One. I was a KRS-One fanatic. In my room, I had 1 whole wall devoted to KRS.



This one concert, C Rock and DBX found out that all the rappers were staying at the Holiday Inn/. Where the Rockets, played, the Summit. We sat up in the lobby, we watched Ice T, Biz Markie, Kool Moe Dee, Eric B & Rakim were the headliners. Krs One walked in, this is my idol. It was surreal. I approached this dude like he had a pistol. This guy was as cool as a fan. He asked us if we going, we said no, we some broke teenagers. So KRS gave us tickets to the show. And this made a huge impression on me. This was a pivotal moment. I already had a record out, but this motivated me that somebody might be able to tell a story about me. That way fans can say that about me. This is over 20 years ago, this is one my life highlights.



Have you ever done a show with KRS?

No. Back in those days, this was before the popularity of SPC, we were more rap fans than anything. We would always go to his shows. That’s one of the people that I’ve always wanted to work with. And he still so active. Probably more so than ever. I know it s a possibility that maybe one day we could put something down together. You can’t treat people bad; these are the very people that allow you to eat.



I saw that KRS and DJ Premier are doing a full album. I opened once for KRS a long time ago and it was easily one the best shows I’ve ever seen. Aside from KRS, you mentioned some non rap artists you’d like to work with?





I got a list of my favorite artists. It’s a trinity. One of em, he died before I was born.. Sam Cook. The others, Stevie Wonder and Prince. They don’t make it a habit of working with rappers. In a perfect world, we could sit up in the studio and come up with something real good. Of course RIP, Michael Jackson, you know you always want to work with the greats. I’ve been talking to DJ Crew, Canibus, different people that have reached out to me. I’ve received calls from people like Scarface, David Banner, these people have called me and it’s an honor that they’ve called me that they’d want to work with me. But Prince and Steve, the ultimate. Sign of the Times by Prince, this one of the coldest of all time. Songs in the key of Light, how long did it take him to come up with this? Did he take years to come up with something great? Anyone striving to be that great, will have a natural curiosity about their creative process. If they thinking like that, they trying to go into the womb to see how their creative process functions.



What’s up with that website you on with Canibus?



Spitboss.com – is geared towards all the lyricists all over the world. I just talked to him on the phone recently for the 1st time. He a good dude, and for someone that great, you wouldn’t think he wouldn’t need to bring all these cats together. Spitboss, it’s bringing them all together. I’m proud to be a part of it; I’ve met a lot of good people on it.



I saw that you on Canibus new album…



Yeah, that was a blessing. Once again, DJ Crew, that was the bridge. Architect also. They reached out wanting to get on me on the new album. That’s not something you think about. Its something you bring your best. k!llah Priest, Ras Kass, the greats, ill stand up in the corner of the room just honored to be a part of it. I got a lot of fans, that debate on who the greatest. I just want to be part of the conversation. If you hear my name, just 3-4 times, I’m good.



One of my people, Scotty, I saw commenting on Youtube that you and Bun B are the South’s greatest MC’s.





Bun B, one of the greatest, because he took it all over the world and got that respectability. A lot of cats got famous, also, but didn’t have the subject matter, but the industry was laughing at them. You can’t knock no one who can sell 2 million albums. Bun & Face are the counter action to that. People said that the South didn’t have no lyricists, or Houston but Bun & Face were those ones we could always lean on. These 3 people right here dispel that myth.

Keep it locked to I2G for part 2 of our interview with K-Rino as he talks about South Park Coalition, his next album and much more.

 

[The Ruler 09]

The Friday Night Show: Underground Conscious Rapper K-Rino 10/11 by NWO Truth Radio | Hip Hop Music Podcasts

This is a good audio interview.

 

[The Ruler 09]

K-Rino Interview
Author: Pedro 'DJ Complejo' Hernandez

P: For those who don't know, tell us a little about your history in the rap game, when you started rapping, et cetera.
K: Actually, I jumped in the game in 1983 if you're speaking about when I first started writing. If you're talking about getting into the industry side of things that was 1986 when I first started making records. That's when I first took it seriously as far as making a living, so I've been in the game for 22-23 years now.
P: You mentioned getting into rapping back in 1983, what was the hip-hop scene in Houston like back then?
K: In 1983 there wasn't a scene! You had some people rapping on street corners, in clubs, and at talent shows but it was all smaller. This was all until someone actually put out a record. There was a group that had a record called "McGregor Park," dedicated to this park we have in Houston that was real popular especially on Sunday people would come out and hang at the park. But outside of that, the scene was in its infancy at that time. The scene really did not get popping until a couple of years later, maybe 85 with Kiss Jams. There was this college radio station called KTSU and they had this show called Kiss Jams every Saturday morning and that crew that they had was so dynamic! In terms of expanding hip-hop and breaking these new records and playing a lot of the stuff coming out of New York and LA, not to mention the fact that as new artists, the local artists could always walk into the radio station and they would play it on the spot. That was the first platform where you could really be heard.
P: Back in '83, who were your influences? What rappers influenced you to start rapping?
K: Well around that time I was influenced by the old pioneers back in the day, that was the Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow, and Run DMC. Those early pioneers of rap and hip-hop were the people that influenced me. I would learn the lyrics to they songs word for word, performed their records like they were mine, and that was one of the things that influenced me to start writing. I just loved what they did and was just trying to do it myself and never looked back.
P: You mentioned you dropped your first record in 1986, what record was that?
K: I did a song called "Rockin' It," I was in a group called Real Chill back in the day. It was me and a friend of mine called GT and another friend of mine called Preppy Jay. We all went to school together, middle school and high school. We did all kinds of battling back in the day against each other, but we befriended each other around high school and decided to form a group. That record that we dropped was the first rap record to come out of South Park, to my knowledge. It was one of the building blocks of rap in the city. The record itself didn't make much noise as far as record sales, as far as popularity wise, but like I said, relating back to Kiss Jams, Kiss Jams would play it all the time. It was a good experience for us and allowed us to travel around the country and promote it. It was our first experience with that.
P: When did you decide to start the South Park Coalition?
K: Well, I had it in my mind in '86, around the time we put the record together. We actually didn't make it official until '87. In the beginning we only had 5-6 artists in the South Park Coalition and they all consisted of guys who went to school with me. Then it grew to 7-8 guys that I hung out with and we all hung in the same circle. Once we started branching out and being cool with guys from other areas we befriended those cats and added them into the mix. That strengthened us because there were so many hard rappers in city of Houston at that time and the competition was so great. Prove yourself anywhere you might be. If you got caught up in a battle or someone tried to prove you weren't everything you said you were cracked up to be. The majority of them eventually ended up becoming a part of the South Park Coalition. That's what expanded us.
P: Now the Coalition is quite famous and quite large, go into some detail on some of the members and their history in the game.
K: Oh yeah man, just to name a few. Ganksta Nip and myself we had a rap battle in '87, if I'm not mistaken it was the winter time of '87, I just remember it was real cold that day so it had to be winter time. Before that we had been enemies, we were arch enemies, it was just animosity. So that battle lead to mutual respect for both of us because we went so long and so hard against each other that no one could actually say who won. Everybody said "Man, it's a tie!" So everyone wanted us to keep going more and more rounds. That just gave us respect for each other that neither one of us may not have had at the time because we were both set to the fact that we were the best. When Nip came in he brought in all people that went to his high school. He brought in A.C. Chill, Murder One, and Klondike Kat, so he brought his side over. It made us stronger. Later on I met Rapper K and he took me by Dope E's house because he said he wanted to do some recording. Dope got cool and we brought him in. Dope was real skilled in production and as far as rapping and DJing too. That strengthened us man and the Dope signed to Rap A Lot and when they put their record out they were representing the SPC. Now they were representing us on the global scale. Point Blank, PSK-13, all them other cats came into the circle and started putting out albums. That started that whole phenomenon and interest in the South Park Coalition. We were different from everybody that was out at the time, nobody was doing what we were doing, nobody was rapping the way we were rapping, no one had that large or diverse mix of emcees. None of them sounded like the other one. You just didn't see that back then.
P: I have noticed that the South Park Coalition is made up of many different styles, from Dope E's political rap to Ganksta Nip's psycho rap, was that planned?
K: I mean nah, that's what made it so beautiful because everybody was just doing what they did. Now Dope E, he grew into the conscious political rap just based on his life experiences coming into that particular wealth of knowledge as I ended up doing later on myself. When I battled Nip he was rapping the way he raps right now, you know, he was doing the psycho rap. When I met Blank he was just hard edge, hard nose, hard core, reality based street lyrics. Same with myself, I've always been a fan of lyricism and that aspect of rap. So everybody brought these different personalities to the table and those ingredients made one big recipe. It was just a natural , it wasn't like we sat down in a room and said, "Okay, you're going to be the political rapper and you're going to be the gangsta rapper."
P: You mentioned that you yourself did some growth, what was K-Rino like 20 years ago and how is he different now?
K: 20 years ago I was a lot more fiery than I am right now, because my competitive nature in rap was to the point where I just wanted to challenge everybody. Everybody that I saw that rapped, it didn't matter if you wanted to be my friend or not I wanted to battle you and take you out, decapitate you. I was in high school, I was probably in my last year in high school, probably 18 or 19 years old. I was just a loose cannon man, like a lot of us at the time. And I wrote every day because my passion for the rap game was so intense that I ate, slept, and drank rap music. I breathed it. Even though I had experience in business side of it, I hadn't been as deep into it as I am right now 20 years later. I'm the not same guy anymore, I look it now more as a business, though I still got love for the art form. I'm more to the point where I write when the situation calls for it. Back then we were writing with no aim or purpose, we were rapping with no aim or purpose. So that's probably the only difference. Also, as far as experience, I did not have then the experience that I have now. I had a song where I spoke about if I could combine the me then and me now it would be a monster, because it would be the experience mixed with the passion that I had for the game.
P: When did you drop your first solo album?
K: I dropped my first solo album in 1993 when I did "Stories From the Black Book." I had done the Real Chill group before then. Then me and Dope E were in a group called COD and that dropped in 1990. That was after I left Real Chill. After that, Nip and Dope signed with Rap A Lot and did their solo thing so I started my own label with my father, that was Electric City Records in 1992. Then we dropped my first solo in 1993. We had real good regional success with that and sold a lot of records and got radio plays. That was my first, first taste of solo fame and I never looked back after that.
P: What ended up happening with Electric City?
K: Well what it was is that we carried it on for about 8 years all the way up to 2000. My dad wanted to do something else, he wasn't into the music anymore like he was back then. I was still doing it so I decided to carry it on and take over the label, but I decided to put more of my own personality into it and changed the name to Black Book International, which is my label now.
P: And during that time, you've dropped how many solo albums?
K: Awww man! I've lost count. From that time to now I don't know, because I've done a couple of group projects that I include. As far as my whole catalog and pure, strictly solo albums it's up in the double digits, the high double digits, but I don't know the exact number.
P: How do you get prepared for the next album? What do you do, or what is your though process going into a new album?
K: I mean, it's a natural process. It's very rare when I sit down and say "OK, it's time to do a new album." It's more of a situation where I take a break after an album I had just done and then once months and months pass and the inspiration just comes and I start getting ideas and concepts and they just come to you. Rhymes come here and there and before you know it you've accumulated enough material you say "Okay, it's time to work on something new." I think time tells when to do it, it's not something you do yourself.
P: When did time tell you to start working on "Solitary Confinement?"
K: Awwww man, about 3,4,5 months ago. What the deal has been lately is I've been coming out with complete projects at a whole faster pace than I had in previous years. I can remember a time when it would take me 4 or 5 months to put out an album. All the way from "Time Traveler" to now I've been knocking out albums in record time. I mean as far as recording wise, I've been recording projects in three weeks to a month. Literally, that quick of time. The writing process may take a little longer, it may take me a couple of months to get the writing done, but as far as recording I've been knocking that out with the quickness. "Solitary Confinement" I started writing for that about 4 or 5 months ago and just took off with it. My brother works fast and I work fast.

 

[The Ruler 09]

P: "Solitary Confinement" is coming out October 27th, what is the concept for that album? What can fans expect when they pick that up?
K: Well, I mean basically they can expect the same thing that they normally get any time they purchase a K-Rino album. As far as those familiar with my work, they know that my work is always rooted in two things, reality and lyricism. That hasn't changed even with this album. I tackle topics that are going to be relevant in the world today and that can help in transforming somebody's life for the better. I want to turn someone into an introspective individual and say "Okay, I can relate to this and pull something from it." On the flip side of that, just certain songs on the album are where I just kind of like to work out lyricism and bring that style of rap as far as the word play side of things, people really appreciate that side of the game. There have always been fans who want that style of rap coming from me. So "Solitary Confinement" is no deviation from what I normally do. Every album takes on its own personality and this album, I don't want to say its dark, but it is deep. There are a lot of introspective things going on to make you look inside of yourself.
P: Being from where you are from, where to you get the inspiration to keep trying to motivate and uplift people?
K: I mean, it's just that, the things that you go through and the personal experiences. For some people, it can depress them, the bad times it can depress when it should be used as a teaching tool especially when you come through it. Because it is like "Okay, you know what? I can actually speak on this as a qualified individual." You can say "I went through this problem, I made it through this problem and I can educate someone or I can prevent somebody from possibly going through it." Experience is the best teacher, it's all about being able to relate to someone, especially on paper and through music in a way you can connect to a person and make a difference in them for the better.
P: Do you ever feel your at a cross road or conflicted when some times it seems people in your own circle, like the South Park Coalition, don't always get that message?
K: I mean, it's a situation where any time you're speaking on topics that's based around real life, in this day and age where the music industry is based on a lollipop world, neverland, and just fairy tales and frivolous garbage that they play on the radio and you see on the video shows, it is always gonna be a struggle to get your message across and to make sure your message is felt. That's not supposed to stop you from continuing do what you do, you're still supposed to go forward with it. There is a scriptural saying that many are called but few are chosen. So, your message is going to be heard by a lot of people, but it's only going to be a few that accept the message and take it in. Your job is to just deliver, whether it is a total stranger or somebody in my circle, my job is to spit what I spit, that's what comes from my heart, people can take it however they want.
P: You mention the scriptures and it is clear from your music that religion is a big part of your life. Was it always your intent to put that into your music or did it develop over time?
K: I mean, I've always been rooted in spirituality, that's just how I was raised. I was raised in the Baptist church through my grandmother and my mother. God has always been the center of our family, so even in my deviation the remembrance of God is always there. Even when I started coming across different knowledge and different theologies like the Nation of Islam and religion of Islam, which is what I follow now, I felt the obligation to pass on and teach what you know. Once I came into that body of knowledge I was double fired up to express it through my music because I felt that was one of my purposes in life to do anyways. So definitely, without a doubt, I try to make sure that I inject spirituality in my music. I try to do it in a way that is not too preachy and will not make people rebel against what I'm saying. I'm not throwing fire and brimstone at you that's too hard because anything I say in a rap I try to make sure I got a metaphorical mirror up when I'm writing. Anything I say I relate it to my own self. When I speak on certain things I like people to know that I'm talking to myself too.
P: A few years back Chamillionaire made noise by committing himself to not cursing on reacord, I've noticed that while you do curse on record, it is not as pervasive as it is in most rap records today. Is that intentional?
K: Well, when I first started rapping I didn't use any profanity in my raps when I was young. I used to massacre people cleanly. When I got older, going into manhood, you start that type of language and sometimes you misuse it. If there is such a thing as using it properly, there is such a thing as misusing it. Now I had to grow into the understanding of the difference between cursing and content, because I'm more focused on content than on the fact of whether I'm cursing or not. Because I can use a bunch of curse words and say something very positive, but I can not curse at all and say something very negative. I can say "I pushed your mama down the stairs, kicked her in the face, spit in her eye, and urinated in her mouth." You didn't hear one curse word, but the content was just terrible! I commend any artist that weed out the profanity from their music because you are supposed to do that. You are supposed to enhance your vocabulary to the point of not having to use those words because usually that's why people do it in the first place. People feel like "okay, I really have to express myself, I have to get this F word into the song." You have to challenge yourself as an individual to try to get your message across without having to use the word. Over time if you look at my music and look at "Stories from the Black Book" there maybe one, maybe two, but I just know there is one clean song on the entire album. Every song was cursing on it and some cursing didn't even belong there, it was unnecessary. So as time progressed I realized that I was more intelligent than that and I operate in circles where you use better language. I speak to kids. I perform at churches, I perform at juvenile detention centers, I perform for older people and I have to be able to speak without hearing that kind of language. So you grow out of it, I mean you still hear it sprinkled in some of my songs but if you study it you will see a gradual decrease in the profanity from project to project. I commend anybody who does it and I think everybody should work towards it because I see a lot of younger rappers now where every other word is a curse word and that's not cool.
P: What about the N-word specifically? I have rarely heard you use it, what are your thoughts on the word?
K: I mean, I have used it, but I have never used in the kind of context that it is normally used in or that that rap fans are accustomed to hearing. If I use it I use it in a way to let you know I'm not using it in that way, if that makes any sense. It's a word we need to distance ourselves from, because even though people like to say "well, n-i-g-g-a, that's a street word, that's our word, we put our spin on it" it still originates from n-i-g-g-e-r and we know that word is a negative word. That word is a word the enemy used to bring us down, to degrade us, and to insult us. It's an issue that's not agreeable to us. Now it has become fashionable for everybody to say it, the Blacks say it, Hispanics say, whites even say it. The whites will come around you and say "hey, what's up my nikka." I mean, that's what you hear and we have to weed that out because we instilling that in our younger generation. They growing up feeling like it is no big deal. We have to go and research that word and research all of the negative effects it had on us as Black people and we have to take pride to not use it amongst ourselves to make other people feel like they have a path. They are gonna use it behind closed doors anyway. A racist is gonna use it anyway, we gotta make that it gets back to how it used to be where you wouldn't dare say that in our presence. .
P: Is it ever a challenge to get that message across to your international fans who may not understand all those cultural and social factors you just mentioned?
K: I mean nah, because for me it's about me being me and me being who I am. The thing about those international fans is that they know me and they are familiar with my work. Only the few that may not necessarily be familiar with the whole body of my work, they may not understand, they may be just bandwagon cats who jump on because everybody else is going to the show. But the people who are truly familiar with my work, when I go overseas, when I've seen whole crowds of people reciting my word s lyric for lyric. You can't script that, you can't make that up. These people truly are familiar with my work, so they know what I'm about. It would be foolish of me to represent one thing when I'm in the states and I'm a safe place and in my own circle representing one thing, and then to go around another set of people who may not be involved in what I'm involved in and then I change up because I'm in that circle now. "Oh, well, you know I'm not actually in the Nation, I'm just kind of with the Nation." I can't do that. Whoever accepts me they accept me for who I am. If they have some understanding of what I'm involved they will know for a fact that it's nothing but good anyway. Sometimes people take different beliefs and different philosophies that on the surface may be controversial and they take those things and run with it without even understanding or interpretation of what it means. I don't have a problem with sitting down anyone and explaining to about what I believe to the best of my abilities. So they will understand, if they have any sense in their mind, they can say they understand it even if they don't agree with it.
P: Did it come as a surprise when you found out you had so many international fans? When did you become aware that you could sell out crowds in other countries?
K: I didn't become aware that I could sell out crowds until I actually went over there and started selling out crowds! I became familiar with the international fan base way back to the early 1990s when I started releasing solo stuff, but I still didn't know it was as big as it was. This was before the internet jumped off and gained the popularity that it has now. This was before the time where every household had internet. We'd get a fan letter every now and then from Germany, every now and then from Australia, or Spain somebody would send a letter. Or you'd pick up a magazine and somebody had written an article in a magazine from Brazil. But that was just isolated incidents. You appreciate it, but you don't really look at it like, "Okay, the whole country is really on us like that." It wasn't until I actually went to Finland in 2005 that I got a chance to see the full, full comprehension of it and experience it first hand. At that time I knew we had big fan base in Germany and Australia because the internet was in full spring then, because I would contact these people and had contact with these people. But even then it was 15 or 20 different people or 20 or 30 different people. But to go over there and it is a packed building and they all came to see you, that let's you know just the reaction. You go over and feel like you are Michael Jackson in this country and that's when it hits you.
P: Going into your music, where do you come up with some of the concepts for your songs? Like in "The Debate" where you play the role of both sides of a debate as well as the moderator, did that just come to you?
K: Well, sometimes concepts come, sometimes you get ideas off of experiences. "The Debate" was based on one day I was on Youtube and I saw a debate. I saw a Christian minister debating an evolutionist and I watched a little of the debate. I didn't watch much of the debate because it was kind of boring, but I started clicking on other videos of people arguing and I looked at both sides. I saw a video entitled "how to defeat Christian in a debate if you're an evolutionist" and another one would say "how to defeat an evolutionist in a debate if you're a Christian." I would read the stuff and I was naturally familiar with the creationist side of it because I grew up with that, but I wasn't familiar with the evolutionist side of things. So I learned and I just studied it and I thought, "you know what? That would be a real tight song if I were to just to do that." Knowing me, I always wanted to do things in way that no one else would do it or in a way that no one else had done. So I came up with the idea to do that and give a fair debate for both sides. Even though I don't believe in evolution I still wanted to make that I spoke on it the best I could for their behalf. I didn't want to come out just destroying the evolutionist because I believed in God. I wanted to make sure that both sides were represented to the best of my ability and hopefully I did.

 

[The Ruler 09]

P: I know SPC International has taken off in recent years and you've worked with Wolftown Records in the UK and just released a collection of songs called "Speed of Thought," tell us about that.
K: Well it was a collaboration between myself and Late and Tricksta, they reached out to me. They were fans and then they sent me some music and I became a fan of their music. And we decided to do a collaboration because they showed me love and they've been on a mission to promote me over there and get my name bigger over there. People know me but it's not like here or places like Germany or Australia. So they've been working just tirelessly to blow my name up over there so we have a really good working relationship. We just dropped another project called "Speed Of Thought" on the SPC UK label and we just trying to push this thing and hopefully go over there and do some shows.
P: "Speed of Thought" is a situation where I wanted to give them the opportunity to pick certain songs from my previous albums that they felt would go over in UK, because I wouldn't have good judgment of what type of music is going to win over there. I just make my songs. They can tell me which songs would go over so I just let them pick the songs out on the first project. On the second one we kind of just came together and picked them out and did a lot of new stuff on their production. Tricksta is their producer. I know any K-Rino that's got all my albums is not going to want to purchase something they've already got, so we always try to add 4 or 5 new tracks that will be exclusive to that project alone.
K: Looking at your entire career, does it ever frustrate you to know you've been in the game for so long producing quality music and yet you are not at the level of some of your east coast and west coast contemporaries?
P: I mean yeah, at times it has, I go through stages where I go to that level of thinking. On the same token you have to put everything in its proper perspective. The fact being number one, whatever is meant happen is gonna happen and no one gonna keep you from it. Also, you have to factor in mistakes that you made in your own life and your own career. Things where I say "maybe I messed up." In my growth I also look at the point now where a person like me could never reach too high of a pinnacle in this game anyway because of the belief system that I'm under and the things that I stand for and represent would be in direct opposition to the powers that sit in those big seats. I couldn't possibly on the level that Jay-z is on as far as status wise and popularity wise and record sales wise, because I'm a different type of cat. I'm going to walk into the office and there is going to be problems when they tell me I can't talk about problems in black community or can't mention Minister Farrakhan in my music. There's going to be problems if I couldn't do that. So I look at that in the way that I will never reach that level because there is a ceiling on me because its only so far that they let you go when you try to be that real and when you really care about bringing people up. With that side of it, it don't bother me at all. I just have to strive to reach as many people as I can reach in the way that I do it. Latch on to people who want to push that cause with me.
K: Speaking about your message and the things you have going on, I know you have Justice Allah you are pushing as part of the Coalition, tell us about him:
P: Justice Allah was on the 144 Elite project and he just dropped a solo album, "Supreme Mathematics," on his own label. We're actually going to have a big show out here in Houston and we are going to have a joint album release concert for my new and his new album on the 15th of next month. His album is on Elite World Records and he actually did the 144 Elite album, they dropped that on Dope E's label, Akasha Records. He's trying to get his label off the ground. I dropped 3 projects on my label recently. I dropped B-1 – "Off Hook Part 2" and the Kuwait album "Face of God" and the Rapper K album which is under my label. We didn't release it in the stores though.
K: Along those same lines, are there any new members of the South Park Coalition or new projects you are working on?
P: Actually, we got so many people in the click that there's always going to be people that nobody knows about. We have been on a campaign to bring in new members. We working on some internship type things we have going on, because certain people who may not have the experience, we'll bring them in on like an intern basis. We pretty much have to show them what we're all about and we have to show them what it takes to be down with us and slowly walk them through it. We also have a couple of other established individuals in groups that we are possibly bringing in now that have always been avid supporters of the SPC and we're going to bring them in. We've got Big Sniper and Re-up entertainment, they've been some real close affiliates over the years and have always repped us to the fullest. I actually met with them last night and did some recording with them and I'm actually going to bring them into the SPC on an official basis. Also, with Late and Tricksta, the duo in the UK, I made them official members this year. We lifted the affiliate tag off of their title and made them official members. We got to grow, everybody is familiar with myself and the main members, we have to grow so we have to bring in new people that will continue this thing on and bring in new styles. That's the only way in this game to stay relevant.
K: And we are looking for people! So anybody reading this, we looking for people but you've got to be real. You can't come in thinking this is some record label that you can sign to with some big contract, you gotta be down with the team. The SPC Showcase this summer was definitely a big part of it. We have a couple of those groups that we are bringing in right now as far as the intern basis. The Showcase went over well. One of our purposes was to scout groups from a talent perspective first and then meet with them and see where their heads were at and if they would be ready and able to come in and be a part of the clique.
P: I know you have your new solo album "Solitary Confinement" coming out this Tuesday, October 27th, is there anything else coming from the SPC anytime soon?
K: Like I said, Justice Allah is available now. Murder One just did a project with Wolf Town records in the UK and it's available now. Also, Murder One solo is getting ready to drop. The Rapper K solo is about 2 songs away from getting done. I was working on that last night. Ganksta Nip just finished his new project and it's ridiculous! Everybody is still active and still doing a lot of work. It's just a situation where you gotta make sure all of our supporters and fans know where locate us. You can always find us at the website southparkcoalition.webs.com, and at any of our MySpaces. If you google my name the first thing you'll see is my Myspace page. So there's no excuse to not be able to keep close tabs on us and what we're doing.
P: Will all those projects be available on the web site?
K: A lot of them will. We got some guys in the clique who like to sell their own product from their own base and that's totally fine with us. But anything we can sell in the store will be available and you can order from the site. And if there's something anything that you know that is out and is not available from any of the SPC members, you can enquire and we'll point you in the right direction and provide you the opportunity to order it from any entity you can order it from.
P: On the website you have the forums where people can talk to other SPC fans as well as with you and other artists right?
K: Oh yeah, we're totally accessible. We're not in the stratosphere where people can't reach out and talk to us and ask us questions personally. That's what the forum was really set up for. It was set up for fan interactions among themselves where they can discuss SPC related things. It is equally important for them to be able to talk directly to us and ask us questions and have us answer it directly. If there is somebody who may not be on the net or get online and you want to know something about them, either me or a couple other cats can always answer a Point Blank question or a Klondike Kat question. That's what it is for, the myspace and the web site. There aren't many artists where you can actually get on the website and talk to them directly. If I don't get with you right that second, I will get with you.
P: Finally, is there anything you want to say to the fans?
K: Yeah, all I can say is first of all praise to Allah for the strength and everything else he provides. I appreciate you for interviewing your boy, it's all good, it's all love. True fans, make sure you purchase the album. I had the 1000 list which was project I started where I wanted to get the email addresses of 1000 people who were truly going to support the album and purchase the album. I got a lot of good responses from that so I'm just encouraging anybody may not have known about that and wants the album to just hit me up or go to the site and order the album. You know, don't burn it, don't download it, order the album. I can put a guarantee on it that it's worth your purchase and you're not going to feel like you wasted your money.
You can check K-Rino on the web at SouthParkCoalition.webs.com.

 

[The Ruler 09]

I didn't know Rap-A-Lot wanted to sign him but he opted to start his own label.