This Page Was Posted on October 29th, 1995
Like a brainiac seventh grader who skips a grade and leaves junior high straight for the big leagues of high school, Del had to deal with being the new "weird" kid in the studio as production began on his first LP. Though down with upperclassmen bullies, cousin Ice Cube and DJ Pooh of Street Knowledge Productions, the nose-ringed boho stuck out like a needle in a haystack of production ideas and concept-crazy record execs that overshadowed and overconcieved this new school protege of West Coast extraction.
At that time, Del was new to the game and happy to be signed, but in the testosterone-intoxicated psyche of the B-boy, his eccentricism waded in solitude. With his phat rhymes and his style his own, Del maintained as a prisoneer of sorts. But what his debut album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, hinted at was when mic skills precede maturity you're forced to grow up faster than expected. And since you really have it goin' on when your crew is down with you, what the "Brother George" Del missed was his crew Hieroglyphics, a beatwise collective of vernacular poets including Souls of Mischief, Caual, and other forthcoming artists.
Now things have changed, and Del is back in his element. It's two years later, and his Hiero bros have graduated and can wax poetic beside him. With the confidence of a senior, Del has returned, assuring in his aptly titled second release, No Need For Alarm, that previous misinterpretations of funky homosapien definitions are completely unfounded.
Gone are the Bugs Bunny references, sing-songy kick line choruses and floating lyrics about the trueness and coolness of being "not hard". This time around, Del dispenses with the technicolor psychedelia of an image conscious past, instead reviving the earth tones of classic brag and freestyle rhyme schemes. With No Need For Alarm itching to be released, Del is ready to claim his props with a self-produced and self-realized rendition of his voice on wax. This winter promises to be the season of tha Funky Homosapien and his fellow rhymthologists Hieroglyphics. Wake up, sleeper!
RapPages: What was the concept of the sound on your first album?
DEL: [The label people] actually were concentrating on marketing P-Funk sound. They was like, "You're gonna go tour with George Clinton, a P-Funk Returns Tour, and your mission is to save funk." I just got swept up in it because I was hella younger than and it didn't bother me. I was making a record. The difference between this album and that album is no P-Funk. And the beats are a lot less produced, you know what I sayin'? It's pretty much straight-up Hip-Hop beats. That's the way I like shit.
RP: So all of the production is done by Hieroglyphics?
DEL: Yeah, us and SD 50s. But their sound is close enough to mine that I can still run with it. My cousin [Cube] still wanted to help and shit but after a hile he was just like, "All right, you wanna do it? Go ahead. Do what you want and see what happens."
RP: What's the general theme of the new album?
DEL: There's not really a concept. It's just different songs put on there. The concept is just me. Whether it's freestyles or a specific topic, it's not really influenced by nobody else.
RP: Describe the different cuts on the album a little bit.
DEL: "Catch a Bad One" is the first single. Heavy bass line, drums and a cello sample makes it sound sorta crazy. and some horns and shit in the break. I just like the way it all came together. Casual brought the beat. I felt that shit and wrote it, you know what I'm sayin'? And then "Wrong Place at the Wrong Time" I like cuz the beat--the beat is not really P-Funk, but it's funky. Plus, i just like the story. It's like being caught out there sometimes. You might be talking shit at a party, not knowing somebody else you talkin' shit to got a gat, you know what I'm saying? Then they retaliate on you. I actually try to chill so fools won't phukk with me, you know? Which I think is the way to be. You shouldn't be like outstanding, trying to be the man and shit. Sometimes people get jealous and try to knock you off.
RP: You have a song called "Boo Boo Heads", right? And there's other lyrics about girls in your shit too. What do you think about respecting females?
DEL: It all depends on who the girl is. Most women I don't like in the first place. I mean, I like to phukk with girls. You know what I'm saying? I like girls a lot. I like the idea of phukking with them. But the mentality is just be stupid. I can't really phukk with hella girls because they not really ready to phukk with you. They brains ain't ready--they still in that girl mode, that giggly phukkin' mode, and I can't really phukk with it.
RP: Do you think that's because of who you are or is that just what you do?
DEL: No, I just think it's because a lot of girls out there ain't really grown up yet, you know what I'm sayin'? They still think they in high school. They got the same little cliques and go around and do the same type shit. And then I don't really want to phukk with older women because they think they know everything. And then I want to smack they ass. I'm like,"Don't tell me shit. You don't know me." Cuz I hate for a girl to try to tell me something. I'm like, "You actually don't know. Shut up." I guess I don't respect girls. I guess I really don't care because I've been through too much shit with girls, females, women too. Phukk it. All of them need to shut up. Naw, I still respect them though. If they came with some smart shit, I'll be like "All right." I'll agree with it because it goes with what I'm thinking. Otherwise, be quiet.
RP: What about hving a female MC Hieroglyphics? Do you think that will ever happen?
DEL: That would be dope. I like female MCs when they're dope. Otherwise, be quiet. They come up with this little stupid shit and love shit. Shut up. I don't want to hear it.
RP: Why aren't you and Hieroglyphics in line with the Oaktown sound?
DEL: I don't know. That's just not really my favorite type of sound as far as rap, you know what I'm saying? I like more shit from the East Coast, so I'm more influenced by shit that come out there. That's what I usually listen to. I mean, I like Too Short, but he's not a fat-ass influence on me. I don't do the gangster shit cause I'm not a gangster. i like to do the shit I like to do. I like to tell stories, make up shit or freestyle. Eat other MCs. Some of the same ideas Too Short says in his song, I've got the same type shit installed, but it ain't really the same, you know what I'm saying?
RP: As far as...
DEL: Music, structure, style. I actually try to come tight when I write lyrics. I don't try to be hella simple, but I actually try to be more complex. I try to come with different shit. Sometimes I got to tone it down just so fools will understand, you know?
RP: Yeah, I was going to ask about the creative process. Do you have a formula when you write a song?
DEL: Not really. Usually I make the beat, and then I'll get into a vibe with the beat and write. After I'm off probation, I'll probably get high, listen to the beat and write the rap. It's so much freer just to actually listen to the beat and be thinking in another world, you know what I'm saying? I can actually get into that whole idea hella more than just being, "Damn, I got to pay these bills. I got to do this. Damn, damn." I can't concentrate on no rap really. I can still do it if I just sit down and hella concentrate. Being blue kinda makes me forget about that other shit.
RP: You said you're on probation. For what?
DEL: Hash. I was bringing some hash back from Amsterdam, and I got caught in the Detroit airport. It was only a little piece. They sweated me. They just decided to search me because I was a black person coming from Amsterdam. They just figured I had to have something on me. They opened up the [money pouch], poured out all the coins and clink. "Aha, you were sneaking hash across the border." I'm like, "Throw that shit away, man. That's a little-ass crumb. You're actually going to sweat me for this?" And he was like, "You're not going nowhere." Made me pay $500 just to leave the airport, like a fine. Then I had to go back to court. It was just too much. Probation is actually a fat-ass problem, cause I actually have shit to do.
RP: So as far as music, what else besides the album have you been up to?
DEL: I did the title song for the movie Made in AMerica. I did a re-mix for New Kingdom, a new rap group from Brooklyn on Gee Street records. They've got a single called "Good Times". I did the rhyme for a song with Dinosaur Jr. for a movie called Judgment Night too.
RP: What music do you listen to besides rap?
DEL: I listen to reggae sometimes. I listen to Black Flag or Bad Brains sometimes. I listened to it more when I was younger. Jazz sometimes. I bought these Indian records the other day [which] sounded kinda weird. I be trying to figure out new shit that I can do. I'm already working on the next album. Cause this shit is cool, but I know I can come up with some other shit that fools won't never come up with. You know what I'm saying?
RP: So how are they going to market you now?
DEL: I don't know. They can't market it like no pop shit. They're going to have to show that shit to the streets first. Numerous Black publications will probably have interviews and shit, you know--that's going to help on this level. Once you build up this down here, it's going to happen anyway. Plus, since they already know who I am anyway, it probably won't be hard to get played on MTV. You know what I'm saying? Once it get on MTV, it's over.
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