It seems like yesterday that this young Canadian actor-turned-rapper was making his way into the rough-n-tumble world of Hip-Hop. He was singing and rapping about relationships, ambition, insecurity and everything in between. Some dismissed him. Others saw the future. But very few could have predicted that Aubrey Drake Graham would become one of the most successful, polarizing artists in music history.

I actually interviewed Drake in June 2010, when his debut album, Thank Me Later, was taking off. What struck me was his ambition, self-awareness and refusal to accept that commercial success somehow made him less Hip-Hop. I remember defending his lyricism during our conversation. He was already talking about longevity, improving his craft and challenging expectations. I even got to tell him Rihanna had expressed interest in working with him. His reaction was priceless, especially considering what happened later. (He infamously placed Leonardo DiCaprio in his Top 5 Dead or Alive.)

Sixteen years later, that conversation remains revealing.

Drake has experienced extraordinary victories, public defeats, rivalries, criticism and the relentless scrutiny that accompanies superstardom. He’s also helped redefine what a rapper can look and sound like.

In 2013, I wrote “40 Things I’ve Learned From Nas” when the Queensbridge legend reached this same milestone. Thirteen years later, Drake deserves his own…Octobers Very Own, if you will.

This isn’t about beef, Billboard rankings or determining who’s the greatest. We’ve had enough of those arguments. This is about the lessons.

Here are 40 things I’ve learned from Drake.

40 Things I’ve Learned From Drake

40. BE YOURSELF. Drake didn’t fit the traditional rapper stereotype. He succeeded by embracing his differences.

39. EMOTIONS ARE STRENGTH. Men have feelings, too. Drake made vulnerability commercially viable in Hip-Hop.

38. REPRESENT YOUR CITY. Toronto wasn’t a Hip-Hop capital. Drake helped change that.

37. CONSISTENCY WINS. Talent opens doors. Consistent work keeps them open.

36. NEVER GET COMFORTABLE. In 2010, Drake told me he was already thinking about his next victory. Success wasn’t enough.

35. BE YOUR TOUGHEST CRITIC. Drake admitted he could write better verses and hooks. Growth requires self-assessment.

34. SING YOUR SONG. Who said rappers couldn’t sing? Drake helped erase that boundary even if he did not invent it.

33. BUILD YOUR TEAM. OVO became bigger than music. Build something that extends beyond yourself.

32. LOYALTY MATTERS. His longstanding partnership with producer Noah “40” Shebib demonstrates the value of trusted collaborators.

31. THINK GLOBAL. Great music travels. Drake embraced international sounds and audiences.

30. LOVE YOUR MOTHER. Sandra Graham remains central to his story. Never forget who raised you.

29. FATHERHOOD CHANGES THINGS. Becoming a parent adds another dimension to life. Priorities evolve.

28. EMBRACE YOUR ROOTS. Your background isn’t a liability. It’s part of your power. He’s floated between his Canadian Homelife to his father’s background as well.

27. DEFINE YOUR OWN AUTHENTICITY. Drake challenged the notion that commercial success diminished his Hip-Hop credibility. I agreed.

26. TAKE RISKS. Honestly, Nevermind challenged expectations. Artistic exploration requires courage.

25. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Drake understands what connects with listeners. That’s a powerful skill that other’s ignore.

24. BE MEMORABLE. From “Started From the Bottom” to “Worst Behavior” to “God’s Plan,” memorable messages endure. They aren’t all positive or perfect, but we’re not forgetting them.

23. HAVE FUN. Sometimes music should simply make people dance, laugh and enjoy themselves. We have enough stress.

22. SUCCESS REQUIRES SACRIFICE. Extraordinary achievement demands extraordinary commitment and vision.

21. STAY READY. Lil Wayne’s unexpected phone call changed Drake’s trajectory. Opportunity rarely waits and one must be ready.

20. COLLABORATE. Great partnerships create opportunities for everybody involved.

19. GIVE BACK. The “God’s Plan” video demonstrated how generosity can become a cultural moment.

18. STYLE EVOLVES. Fashion is another form of self-expression. Wear your confidence.

17. BE VERSATILE. Rap, R&B, dancehall and house music can coexist. Creativity has no borders.

16. HUMOR HELPS. Drake understands the power of laughing at himself. Sometimes that’s the best response.

15. CELEBRATE SUCCESS. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor.

14. STUDY THE GREATS. Drake has acknowledged artists who influenced him. Respect your predecessors.

13. UNDERSTAND THE MOMENT. Drake told me listeners sometimes confuse nostalgia with musical quality. Timing matters.

12. INVEST IN YOURSELF. Your greatest asset might be your own creativity.

11. STUDY YOUR CRAFT. Drake once described researching words and writing rhymes on his BlackBerry. Preparation matters.

10. BUILD A BRAND. OVO’s owl became globally recognizable. Identity has value beyond music.

9. OPEN DOORS. Drake’s collaborations introduced numerous artists to wider audiences.

8. ACCEPT CHANGE. Audiences, technology and culture evolve. Adaptation is survival.

7. BE AMBITIOUS. There’s no shame in wanting to be number one. Dream enormously.

6. DOCUMENT YOUR JOURNEY. Drake’s catalog chronicles his evolution. Your story matters.

5. TAKE THE HITS & KEEP BANGING. Every career encounters setbacks. The challenge is continuing forward. The Kendrick Lamar beef could have ended his career. Some how, some way, he made a remarkable comeback.

4. OWN YOUR SENSITIVITY. Emotional expression doesn’t diminish masculinity. It expands it.

3. CREATE YOUR LEGACY. Hits are wonderful. Cultural impact lasts longer.

2. PLAY THE LONG GAME. Drake discussed longevity with me in 2010. Sixteen years later, he’s still here.

1. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Before the records, awards and stadiums, there was a young man with a dream. Believe before the world does.

Happy 40th birthday, Drake.

Clayface tells the story of Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), a rising Hollywood actor whose life and career take a devastating turn after a violent encounter leaves him severely disfigured. Desperate to restore his appearance, reclaim his identity and regain control of his life, Matt turns to an experimental medical treatment that comes with some truly horrifying consequences. What follows is a bleak and disturbingly tragic story of desperation, obsession, love, vengeance and the gradual loss of one’s humanity.

Clayface takes a much different approach from the two previous films released by DC Studios. Rather than focusing on superheroes saving the day, the film explores a darker corner of the DC Universe through a story firmly rooted in horror. In fact, aside from the numerous references to Gotham, casual moviegoers unfamiliar with the character could easily mistake Clayface for an original horror film rather than a DC Comics adaptation.

The film explores how Matt Hagen’s pursuit of fame, fortune, respect and revenge leads him down an increasingly destructive path. While this DC villain-centered feature may not reach the same cinematic heights as 2019’s Joker, I nevertheless found it entertaining throughout its runtime!

Director James Watkins effectively establishes an eerie atmosphere that gradually builds toward full-blown horror. While watching Clayface, I found myself reminded of two older films from a similar narrative wheelhouse: 1986’s The Fly and 1990’s Darkman. Although these are distinctly different films with their own unique stories, all three blend horrifying physical transformations with tragic characters and themes of revenge.

To me, there is something refreshing about seeing a comic book property embrace this kind of old-school horror sensibility rather than relying on the familiar superhero formula. Even though the dialogue occasionally falters and the pacing is uneven in spots, Watkins’ interesting direction and bold vision help overcome the film’s shortcomings.

As far as the performances are concerned, Tom Rhys Harries is excellent in the lead role of Matt Hagen. He is particularly effective at conveying the character’s physical and emotional deterioration. His intense, often stoic performance adds a tragic and deeply human dimension to the character, grounding the film’s more outrageous horror elements.

In a supporting role, Naomi Ackie also delivers a strong performance as Caitlyn Corr, the scientist whose involvement in Matt’s experimental treatment becomes increasingly central to the story. While the rest of the cast does an adequate job of rounding out the film’s narrative, several supporting characters are essentially generic villain types who receive relatively little screen time or development.

In terms of the visual horror on display, Clayface makes a strong impression through its effective combination of practical and visual effects. The grotesque transformations and graphic imagery give the film a visceral edge, making its R rating feel well-earned. The body horror is particularly effective and disturbing whenever the movie fully embraces its gruesome nature. Throughout its runtime, the film delivers several unsettling and downright horrifying moments that fans of the genre should certainly appreciate. Overall, this film definitely isn’t for the squeamish!

Ultimately, I really enjoyed Clayface and look forward to seeing it again! However, it’s important to reiterate that this is not a traditional superhero film. Instead, Clayface is a body-horror and revenge tale that happens to be based on a DC Comics character.

While the film delivers plenty of horror-driven thrills, don’t go into it expecting the large-scale action or spectacle typically associated with comic book movies. I particularly appreciated the creative approach taken with this character, especially the decision not to transform him into a conventional antihero. Instead, Matt Hagen remains a true villain whose terrifying transformation grants him a range of clever and disturbing abilities.

That distinction is important because it allows the film to explore the character’s darker impulses without feeling obligated to make him heroic or particularly sympathetic. While its horror-driven identity may not appeal to everyone, I found the film to be a fun, entertaining and refreshing change of pace.

Overall, I believe Clayface is the best of the three films DC Studios has released so far. Its willingness to take creative risks, embrace a darker side of comic book storytelling and venture beyond the conventional superhero formula makes it well worth checking out!

Clayface is now playing in theaters everywhere and comes highly recommended, especially for fans of horror and darker comic book adaptations.

Enjoy!

Before Tupac Shakur became one of Hip-Hop’s most influential figures, before “The Humpty Dance” turned Digital Underground into a household name, and before Shock G’s alter ego Humpty Hump became larger than life, there was a collective of young artists in Oakland determined to do something different.

Money B was there for nearly all of it.

Born in Philadelphia and raised in the Bay Area, the veteran MC grew up surrounded by revolutionary politics. Both of his parents were members of the Black Panther Party, and he attended Oakland Community School, where Huey P. Newton personally handed him his graduation certificate.

That foundation would eventually intersect with one of Hip-Hop’s most creative groups and one of its most iconic artists, Tupac Shakur.

Now, with his new book, A D.U. Party Don’t Stop: The Money B Story, Money B is revisiting the triumphs, tensions and unexpected moments that helped shape his extraordinary journey. (Click here to purchase this riveting memoir.)

In this candid conversation with AllHipHop’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur and DJ Thoro, Money B discusses everything from Tupac’s early days and their shared political upbringing to Shock G’s frustration with Humpty Hump’s popularity. He also addresses an unusual viral photograph of himself with Tupac and recalls the night Digital Underground deliberately got booed at the Apollo Theater.

The Interview

AllHipHop (Chuck Creekmur): Your parents were Black Panthers?

Money B: Yes. Both my mom and my dad joined the Black Panthers at the Philadelphia chapter in 1970, I want to say. Then my dad moved to the Bay like a year or two later. About a year after that, me and my mom followed.

Shortly after, that’s where I attended Oakland Community School.

AllHipHop: What was the difference between that school and a regular public school?

Money B: You were placed in class not by your age, but by your aptitude. However much you were able to learn, you weren’t held back.

Another thing about the school is we were taught how to learn as opposed to being forced what to learn. It was encouraged to ask questions, to be inquisitive.

I probably read Malcolm X when I was like 11. They would teach us about Marcus Garvey, and we knew about Langston Hughes. I actually met Rosa Parks. She came and visited.

AllHipHop: There’s a picture of you and Huey P. Newton in the book. What’s the story?

Money B: That’s when I graduated from Oakland Community School, basically sixth-grade age. Every year, Huey P. would usually be there at the graduation ceremony, and he’d be the one to hand out the diploma.

That’s a picture of Huey P. Newton giving me my certificate of graduation. That’s actually my brother and sister in the picture with me.

DJ Thoro: With that upbringing, was there any conflict when you wanted to get into the music business?

Money B: My father always hoped that I would talk more about pro-Black, socially conscious music because he loved Public Enemy and Paris.

He actually was a consultant on Paris’s video. When Paris came out, he reached out to my dad.

AllHipHop: What was the original concept of Digital Underground before the group became what we knew?

Money B: Originally, Shock wanted Digital Underground to be more like a pro-Black militant group.

But back then, you couldn’t be a biter. Up until Public Enemy came out, it was like, somebody’s doing it. We can’t do that. We couldn’t come out wearing dashikis because the Jungle Brothers were already doing that.

If you really pay close attention, Digital Underground’s music always has an underlying message. We just weren’t over the top with it.

We make you dance, want you to have fun, party, kick it with us, but also learn a little something along the way.

Shock’s main message, at least the way I interpreted it, was about unity and bringing everybody together.

AllHipHop: How did you and Shock G actually meet?

Money B: Digital Underground put a record out in 1988 called “Underwater Rimes.” At that time, it was just Shock and Chopmaster J.

They needed a DJ. DJ Fuze was recognized as probably one of the hottest DJs in the Bay, and me and Fuze were a group called Raw Fusion.

They came to the crib, and Fuze was renting a room in my mom’s apartment. So I’m there with these guys coming to take my DJ!

After the meeting, Fuze agreed to work with them, but only under the condition that they work with us. We’re a group. We’re not breaking up.

AllHipHop: Digital Underground eventually became a huge collective.

Money B: It definitely was a collective. Everybody came in with the understanding that the goal was for everybody to get their own deal and project.

We were literally Wu-Tang before Wu-Tang.

When Pac came aboard, he was a solo artist. Me and Fuze were Raw Fusion before we got in the group, knowing this was going to help us get a deal for a Raw Fusion album, a Tupac album, Saafir and everybody else.

AllHipHop: How did Tupac come into the group? Was he trying to get down with you guys?

Money B: No, that’s not how it happened.

He was a solo artist signed to TNT Records, which was the label we were signed to.

Before he was a solo artist, he was in a group called Strictly Dope with Ray Luv. They were working on their demo, so they were around us.

Pac and I were close to the same age. When he used to come to Oakland, my house was the hangout house. Me and Fuze had the equipment, turntables, records, and my block was active. Pac liked that.

It got to a point where I think Atron feared he might lose him because it was taking too long, in Tupac’s opinion, for him to get a deal.

We were about to go on our first U.S. tour, and Atron asked if we could bring him.

Everybody likes to say he was a dancer. His job description was just to come and help us with whatever we needed help with.

It could be dancing, helping break down equipment, all these things we all did. He wasn’t just a roadie. He would rhyme, sometimes be the hype man. We all had roles.

AllHipHop: Did you and Pac connect as Panther Cubs, since both your parents were Black Panthers?

Money B: Yes and no.

We didn’t sit around and have meetings about how we were going to take down the white man. We didn’t do that.

But because we had similar upbringings, when he would talk about what people thought were radical thoughts, his messaging was never foreign to me.

When he mentioned political prisoners, Geronimo Pratt and Assata Shakur, I knew who these people were.

He didn’t have to explain anything to me. I think there was probably some comfort in that.

It was unspoken.

AllHipHop: Let’s talk about Humpty Hump. Did he eventually become bigger than Digital Underground?

Money B: He became the star. There became a point where Humpty was bigger than the entire group.

More importantly, he was bigger than Shock G, but Shock G was the one who created him.

Shock openly admitted that some chicks would want him to put the nose on!

He told us the first time Humpty Hump really got busy. Shock G didn’t get it. Humpty got it!

But Shock was such a great musician, and he wanted to be recognized for that.

At one point, he felt like all people wanted was Humpty. He wasn’t trying to kill Humpty, but he wasn’t excited to keep doing it.

I think The Body-Hat Syndrome album was a way to go in the opposite direction because Tommy Boy wanted more Humpty pop songs.

He didn’t want to give them another Humpty hit because then he would be pigeonholed forever.

AllHipHop (DJ Thoro): I was at the Apollo when you guys came out with bags over your heads and everybody started booing. Who planned that?

Money B: We were at rehearsal, goofing around. I think Pee Wee came up with the idea because of the Unknown Comic from The Gong Show.

Shock was like, “No, let’s really do that.”

But the only way it would work was if we got booed. We had to think of the wackest everything to make sure we got booed.

We couldn’t let production know. The Sandman didn’t know. Kiki Shepard didn’t know. Mark Curry didn’t know.

Mark’s from Oakland, and I knew him. If I had said something, he would have recognized my voice.

When we revealed ourselves, they went crazy. New York love was crazy!

AllHipHop: There’s also that picture of you and Tupac that people keep talking about. Can you clarify it?

Money B: I get it. If I was a friend of that person in that situation, I’d be cracking on them.

But back then, if you were on the road, the only person who had their own room was the star, which was Shock.

Other than that, me and Pac were roommates. Fuze and Money? Everybody had a roommate.

Obviously, he sat down and took a picture. I don’t know what else you want me to say.

Other than that, you’re implying something, and if you know me, it’s ridiculous. If you don’t know me, that’s fine, too.

AllHipHop: Nothing to see here?

Money B: Nothing to see.

Editor’s note: The interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. The final exchange refers to Money B and Tupac sharing a room while touring, with other group members also assigned roommates.

Before DMX became one of the most electrifying figures in music, before Swizz Beatz helped redefine New York’s sound and before Ruff Ryders became iconic, there was Joaquin “Waah” Dean.

Alongside his siblings, Waah built Ruff Ryders into a raw, powerhouse movement that introduced an entirely different energy to mainstream Rap. DMX’s historic 1998 breakthrough, which saw It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood both reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200, helped establish the label as a force.

Waah talks with with AllHipHop founder Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur and the pair swap some stories as AHH was founded the same year as Double RR’s breakout year. Waah shares stories that sound almost impossible today. He grew up directly above pioneer Kool Herc, received career-changing advice from Heavy D, discovered DMX through a cassette and nearly signed with Death Row Records. Literally unbelievable.

And yet, it is all real. He even also provides a firsthand account of DMX’s legendary battle with Jay-Z and reveals that the Yonkers MC wanted to challenge prime Tupac. But this is also about the next wave of RR as much as it’s about the legacy. (The following Q&A is an edited version of the entire conversation. Watched. the video for the whole talk.)

AllHipHop: We met in 1998. Everything changed that year. AllHipHop was founded, DMX dropped two albums and the climate was changing rapidly. How does it feel now to get your individual accolades after all these years?

Waah Dean: Nothing happens without the permission of God. I’m not in it for my accolades and for the world to know who I am. I’m more so in it for us to win.

Everything is in phases. Our first phase was really enjoying the process and walking in faith. But what’s happening now, the internet exposed it and made it a little more organic for people to see where we come from.

Before, we had to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time, with no internet to expose what our real work was. Now Instagram, TikTok and all this social technology put everything on the forefront.

I’m blessed to be acknowledged and be able to help other people win.

AllHipHop: When did that entrepreneurial switch happen for you?

Waah Dean: That started early with my pops. Rest in peace. My papa passed away not too long ago.

I was about 12 or 13. I asked my mom for money because I was hungry. She said, “Why you asking me? You better go ask your pops.”

I went to his office on 125th Street in Harlem. My pops was an entrepreneur. He did all the business for the Nation of Islam at that time.

I told him, “I need some money. I want to eat.”

He said, “Why you asking me for money?”

I said, “Is you my father?”

He told me to go in the freezer, get the fish and shrimp, take the cart outside and sell it. Then come back at six.

I sold everything. When the money came in, he said, “That’s your money right there. You can make money with me, but I ain’t giving you anything. You’re going to earn your keep.”

That’s how it started.

AllHipHop: Who did you grow up looking up to in Hip-Hop?

Waah Dean: I was introduced to Hip-Hop from birth. While Hip-Hop was being developed by Kool Herc, we were living on the third floor and Kool Herc’s family was living on the second floor.

Me and my brother’s room was right over Kool Herc’s room, and his room was full of speakers.

We never got no sleep! This dude banging his music downstairs like we in the party.

We didn’t know what it was. We were in it, but we didn’t know what we were in.

Herc’s mother babysat us. We used to take out his crates. That was our job. We were taking the crates out, breakdancing and all that stuff.

We were in it but not knowing we were of it.

AllHipHop: You also had a connection to Heavy D. How did he influence Ruff Ryders?

Waah Dean: We ended up in Mount Vernon. We were raised around Heavy D, Pete Rock, CL Smooth and those guys.

We watched them evolve while we were throwing bricks at the penitentiary.

Heavy came to check on his brother, who was hustling with us. He said his mother was grieving for another brother and they couldn’t have another one go down.

When he was leaving, I asked him, “How can we get in the music industry? Can you help us get on?”

He said, “I ain’t promising you s###. I ain’t guaranteeing you anything. Find an artist you believe in and make hits, and the industry come to you.”

Then my man pulled out a cassette and said, “Here go an artist right here.”

It was DMX.

Heavy said, “Well, I guess you got your first artist.”

Ruff Ryders was birthed through Heavy D. He inspired me.

AllHipHop: That’s incredible. What happened when you finally saw Heavy D years later?

Waah Dean: I saw him backstage at the BET Awards, the year before he died. I told him I appreciated him for giving me that guidance.

He was like, “What the f### I give you?”

He didn’t even know he inspired me!

Then he said, “Don’t thank me. Thank you.”

He said he gives a lot of people advice and they never do anything with it. But I moved on it.

AllHipHop: What was that period between DMX’s “Born Loser” and his breakthrough like?

Waah Dean: That was grind mode. We were battling, being everywhere. We took X to multiple cities to battle and perform. We opened for Das EFX at the Penn Relays in Philly.

I was trying to get him outside of everybody who knew him in Westchester.

We were doing what we could to keep X out of trouble because he was going in and out of jail. X was really extreme with it.

We made him family. So now you’re not just an artist, you’re family.

We’d rotate. You hold him down this week, I’ll hold him next week.

Everything that could go wrong went wrong, and everything that went right went right.

AllHipHop: That legendary DMX and JAY-Z battle. Everybody wants to know who won.

Waah Dean: They both got off. That was a monumental moment. It was a great battle, but it wasn’t a battle to us because we like battles that go on forever until you run out of rhymes.

It wasn’t really X’s battle. It just happened.

It was an Original Flavor and Harlem Knights battle with Steve Mack and Dame Dash. They called us to come through. They told us, “Bring the Dog.”

We brought the Dog. They brought Jay. We didn’t know they were bringing Jay.

Jay jumped on and started, and the Dog was like, “Oh yeah, this is perfect.”

They hit a couple rounds. Jay, I think, went last, and then he bounced. He got off, but we were ready to go the distance.

We left it as an equal tale.

X was always looking for Jay afterward, like, “What’s up? We going to finish this battle?”

Competition is a must. You can’t consider yourself the best if the best is not in the room with you.

AllHipHop: Ruff Ryders, Roc-A-Fella and Murder Inc. were all making hits together, but eventually the competition seemed different. 

Waah Dean: It was really honest competition. We were so competitive.

We didn’t have no beef. We had situations. We had artists evolving into their own areas because they all came up together.

In our era, you had to have your own identity. You couldn’t copycat somebody else.

Sometimes it got out of hand, like the Beanie and Kiss situation. We fixed that too.

You had Ja Rule and X. They had their little moment.

But those were only moments. We ain’t let the moments spiral out like a West Coast, East Coast beef.

We kept each other sharp.

AllHipHop: You were actually close to signing with Death Row Records. What happened with Suge Knight?

Waah Dean: I was in the studio with X when somebody called me and said Suge was in Manhattan.

I went over there. Suge was with Kurupt and Snoop.

I told him, “I got the hottest n#### in New York. You’re going to have to get with this.”

He came to our studio with Snoop and Kurupt. When they opened the door, they were greeted by a pit bull. X was standing right there with his hoodie.

They said we had to come to L.A.

They flew us out, and we saw Tupac.

AllHipHop: DMX actually wanted to battle Tupac?

Waah Dean: X was like, “I need to get at Tupac. I need to get a battle with this n#### ASAP.”

I said, “Yeah, we’re going to do that.”

Pac did his picture thing and went in the building. I followed him, found out where he was and knocked on the door with X.

Pac answered. I told him, “I need a few minutes with Dog, man. He rap. He about this life.”

Pac said, “Yeah, all right. Give me a second.”

Then a girl came and said he couldn’t do this and that. So we couldn’t finish that.

It didn’t happen.

AllHipHop: So why didn’t the Death Row deal happen?

Waah Dean: We went to see Dre. Everything was good. Then Suge sent us the deal.

The deal was cool. It was good money.

But the way it was structured, we would be under Death Row, and all our producers and everybody would run through Dre.

We didn’t take that well.

We were Ruff Ryders. I had about 10 producers and all the artists. I couldn’t put them in a system where they couldn’t evolve in their own way.

So I shut the deal down.

Young Guru leaves and returns at New York’s famed Comic Con. When he does come back, he has two large bags completely full of comic books. Like…an abmornally large number of boo. The Delaware native has spent decades helping shape the sound of Hip-Hop, but he’s also a lifelong comic book enthusiast. His father collected comics, passing down a passion that continues today. Black Panther holds a special place in his collection, by the way.

At New York Comic Con 2026, specially the Nas/Mass Appeal/Whatnot activation, AllHipHop caught up with the longtime JAY-Z collaborator for a brief conversation. Guru, whose real name is Gimel Keaton, has been an essential figure behind the boards. He’s also been an important voice in the AI debate.

The conversation with AHH’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur became particularly interesting when Guru challenged the very concept of artificial intelligence. While he accepts certain technological tools, he believes creative AI raises troubling questions about artistic expression, privacy, addiction and corporate control.

On the music front, also revealed that he recently finished mixing Before The World Blows from Erykah Badu and The Alchemist, discussed working with Slick Rick and Ghostface Killah, and offered an update on JAY-Z’s anniversary celebrations.

Here is the conversation, edited for clarity and length.

AllHipHop: First things first, what do you think about the current state of Hip-Hop as it relates to comics and the cultures merging more and more?

Young Guru: I love it. I’ve been a comic head my whole life. My father was a collector, so he passed it down to me. Black Panther being my favorite, but I have everything Marvel.

If we’re talking Avengers, if we’re talking Fantastic Four, it’s very few things in those runs that I don’t have. I still collect to this day.

The merging of Hip-Hop and comic books is just a natural thing. Us in Hip-Hop, we take on a second name. Me taking on the Young Guru name, we take on the thing. That’s our greatest power.

And to be creative, writing stories, being able to express yourself through visual art, through storytelling, through stretching stories out, through having themes that run throughout a whole comic book the same way it runs throughout someone’s career from album to album to album.

That’s the merging of comic books and Hip-Hop. I think everybody here at Comic Con needs to recognize how much Hip-Hop is important to the comic world.

AllHipHop: Do you feel like a pioneer? Some of us went through the mud a little bit differently than others.

Young Guru: Yeah, we did. But one thing I will say is, as an older gentleman, I’m 52 years old and I love Hip-Hop and I teach kids. I want this to be passed down to a youthful generation.

I don’t like when people say, you know, all the youth don’t have this and don’t have that. I’m one of those people that wants to pass everything down to the youth so it can keep going.

So yes, as pioneers in this thing, I look at older gentlemen as pioneers. I look at myself as somebody who’s just passing down legacy.

AllHipHop: Now, let’s talk Hip-Hop and AI. What do you think about how it’s being received? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing?

Young Guru: Let’s be very clear. There’s no such thing as AI. We have not gotten to artificial intelligence yet, and hopefully we never do.

There’s been so many warnings across centuries of what would happen with computation. So all AI, or what we’re calling AI, is really just computation.

Now, if we get into the weeds of it, I can’t stand the creative AI. There’s no reason for it. But anything that’s an assistive AI, no, I’m not really mad at that.

But it’s not really about just that. It’s about the other things. How it’s affecting the environment, who controls it, what people are able to look at of your own personal information.

And no one is really understanding how addictive these things are.

It’s almost like gambling, where people are looking for this dopamine hit when they gamble. You’ll be like, why is somebody gambling and losing a bunch of money and they keep gambling? Because they want that dopamine hit.

That’s what social media does, and that’s what AI does to us.

So for me, creatively, I don’t use it. But if it’s something that’s assistive AI, I’m not really mad at it. It’s where the world’s going.

But we definitely need regulation. And we need regulation from people that understand what it is, not somebody that’s 70-something years old in Washington, D.C., that has no clue.

AllHipHop: What are you up to now?

Young Guru: Oh man, I just got done mixing the Erykah Badu and Alchemist album, which I think is super fire.

And let’s not forget that we just came off of the Ghostface for Mass Appeal here with Legend Has It. We just came off of the Slick Rick here with Legend Has It.

But currently, right now, we got one more run of shows in L.A. for JAY-Z. We’re celebrating the anniversaries all year.

As y’all seen, we’re celebrating two monumental albums this year. We’re almost done with that. And next year’s more anniversaries, man.

Rasheeda Wallace has spent years working behind the scenes in entertainment, but now she’s putting herself front and center. And she’s bringing some serious Hip-Hop history, relationship drama and unconventional business ideas along for the ride.

Known as “The Queen of Street Soul,” Wallace has carved out a sound that blends classic R&B, Hip-Hop influences and the unfiltered realities of street culture. Her musical journey includes collaborations and performances with an impressive roster of talent, including Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Sam Smith, Crystal Waters, Rahzel and Ky-Mani Marley.

But Wallace isn’t simply leaning on her résumé. She’s got stories to tell, and some of them are downright outrageous.

Her latest single, “Representative,” interpolates The Notorious B.I.G. and R. Kelly’s “Lovin’ You Tonight,” turning a frustrating romantic encounter into a soulful anthem about deception, accountability and knowing your worth. The record is gaining traction across traditional and internet radio, including iHeartRadio-affiliated stations.

During a wide-ranging conversation with Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur at WonWorld Studios, the R&B siren revealed that her family’s musical connections may run deeper than many people realize. She says she is related to the late Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G., and that her father, Jerome Wallace, had connections to pioneering Hip-Hop figures including Kurtis Blow and Kool Herc.

Wallace also discussed her father’s passing, her frustration with artificial intelligence replacing real singers and an unusual plan to sell her forthcoming album on physical iPods.

In other words, she’s not interested in doing things the conventional way.

The Interview

AllHipHop: You have a new song, “Representative.” What’s the inspiration behind it?

Rasheeda Wallace: That song is an anthem for the ladies. Listen, don’t gaslight us anymore. Do what you say and say what you’re going to do.

Basically, to sum it up, because I’m not going to give him no credit, because I’m not giving him publishing, somebody and I were chitchatting. We were talking for a few months online. It was cute.

He wanted to come up. I’m not going to tell you where he’s from because y’all would have been like, “Come on, you already know he’s sus.”

I let him rock. He stayed with me for almost two weeks. It was kind of cute until that man ran out of money. Well, he never really had that much money, because I wasn’t on that type of thing.

Next thing you know, I’m paying for the meals. I’m paying for whatever T-shirts he needs. I’m like, “Dude, hold on a minute.”

He started doing some things and acting a little cray-cray. So I said, “Okay, you got to go.”

AllHipHop: Men don’t always have to pay for everything, but if you’re staying somewhere for two weeks instead of paying for a hotel, do something.

Rasheeda Wallace: That’s a fact. Point blank, period.

AllHipHop: How did that experience become a song?

Rasheeda Wallace: I spoke to a good friend of mine, one of my writing besties, Ash. He’s a beast.

The track came from our boy, the legend DJ Chuck Chillout. He was at the station one day vibing, and he said, “I got a track for you. This is going to be a hit.”

When I heard it, I was like, “Oh, this is dope.” But then I realized there was an interpolation from R. Kelly and Biggie. Now you’re dealing with Bad Boy, Sony Music and Universal. I’m like, “Oh, I got to deal with these big boys. What’s that number going to be?”

My advisor, Blue, Mike Williams, gave me a company to call to handle the sampling. It took a few weeks because I wanted to do it right.

I put up some coins to make sure I did it the right way.

AllHipHop: You also told me something interesting about Biggie. You think you’re related?

Rasheeda Wallace: Yes. So Voletta was related to my dad, Jerome Wallace. We went to the funeral.

There’s a big Wallace family in Jamaica. My dad knew more. Rest his soul, he passed February 9 of this year.

Back in the ’90s, when I first met Big, I didn’t know. I told my dad later, in the 2000s, and he was like, “Man, I wish you would have told me when you were at the Apollo, because that’s your cousin.”

I was like, “My cousin?”

He told me about the story in Jamaica, the shoemaker who had these big stores out there. That’s how I found out we’re related. Second cousins, something like that.

And nobody knew. Y’all hearing it here.

Editor’s note: Wallace’s account of the family relationship has not been independently verified.

AllHipHop: Your father also had some remarkable connections to Hip-Hop history.

Rasheeda Wallace: My dad, Jerome Wallace, managed Kurtis Blow. He also helped Kool Herc when he came from Jamaica.

He was in Mount Vernon. He stayed at my Uncle Nuna’s house, which is my father’s uncle, my great-uncle.

AllHipHop: So you’re a legacy.

Rasheeda Wallace: Definitely a legacy. But I don’t really use that with people at all. I’ve been doing it by myself.

AllHipHop: Let’s talk about the music business. You took “Representative” directly to DJs and clubs before releasing it. Why?

Rasheeda Wallace: You get the real feedback. Real time.

When you throw it out on streaming, it’s kind of like throwing it in the dark. Hopefully people hear it. You have to promote it, place ads and worry about numbers.

But when you’re in the club and you’re seeing a thousand people bumping to your joint, that’s different.

WBLS played it. Power 105 played it. I was in Miami, and Big Meech was in the club dancing and jumping, saying, “Yo, play that again.”

I was like, “Oh, you know that’s me?”

Everywhere I went with the song, there were no complaints. Everybody loved it.

Sometimes you give DJs $20 or $50 and they’ll play it. How many people make $50 in three minutes?

AllHipHop: You’ve also got a pretty unusual plan for your album. You’re not selling it through streaming?

Rasheeda Wallace: My album will not be sold on streaming. Direct to consumer.

It’ll be on my site, and there’ll be a limited edition of my albums being sold on iPods.

AllHipHop: You’re selling an actual physical iPod?

Rasheeda Wallace: Yes. Each iPod has the UPC on it, so it’ll go out as a purchased album. It’ll be around $60 per iPod.

You’ll also be able to get exclusive Rasheda Wallace songs, bonus material. You sign into it, make sure you’ve got your Wi-Fi.

I’m going to change a little bit of the game. Teeny bit.

AllHipHop: That’s innovation. What do you think about the music business today?

Rasheeda Wallace: It feels like Game of Thrones. Literally.

It’s like musical chairs. You don’t know where it’s going most of the time. You have to move with it, or you have to create. You’ve got to be 20 steps ahead.

In the business aspect, you want to be an innovator and step out. Some people will be like, “That’s going to be too much. Don’t do that. You don’t think that’s going to work.”

Get rid of those people.

It’s going to work because you make it work. You manifest what you want.

AllHipHop: You’ve worked in PR and behind the scenes. Why make the transition into being a full-time artist now?

Rasheeda Wallace: I said, “Scratch it (F##k it).”

I don’t feel like giving my energy to people who don’t deserve it anymore.

I found that most people didn’t deserve my energy. I put energy into you, time or money, whatever I have and resources. And then I’m like, “What was I there for?”

When my dad passed this year, I remembered what he told me before he heard the finished single.

He was like, “Look, you’ve got to start focusing on you.”

So that’s it. Thank you, Pop.

Now I’m very selective. I’m not even going to do PR for anyone anymore. I’ll recommend someone.

AllHipHop: You also use AI in parts of your creative process. How does that work?

Rasheeda Wallace: My co-writer is in San Diego. He’ll sing something and form it into a female version, make his voice female, and send it to me.

I think AI is great for that.

But I don’t think AI is good to release and be like, “Oh, I have a song.” We don’t want to hear robotic wannabe singing.

I’m not knocking it because there are great writers out there who don’t sing at all. But creating an AI person and putting it out like it’s a real artist? I’m not with all that.

Don’t negate real singers.

I sat almost in the front row watching Alice Smith at City Winery, and I was in awe. There’s nothing they can create that replaces that.

I don’t want to sit in front of no hologram.

AllHipHop: Before we wrap, you’re also involved with Ghostface Killah?

Rasheeda Wallace: I’m an executive producer on his cooking show, Cooking With Ghost. Eric B. is an executive producer on that as well.

AllHipHop: What’s next for you musically?

Rasheeda Wallace: I’m going to give a little taste of the second single while I’m still pushing “Representative.”

It’s giving you more of a live sound, which is what’s needed, and it’s still in the R&B lane.

The album should be finished no later than the first week of November.

I don’t just rush to throw stuff out. I want to make it right.

AllHipHop: Any final words?

Rasheeda Wallace: We don’t do final words! No final words, because it’s going to continue. The camera’s just going to go off, but we’re going to continue.

Hip-Hop has always had its superheroes – Run DMC, LL Cool J and even Wu Tang Clan. Now, some of its greatest legends are stepping into a world traditionally occupied by Marvel’s mightiest mutants. The X-Men.

At New York Comic Con, rap icons Nas and Slick Rick joined acclaimed comic book artist Sanford Greene for a conversation that brought together two influential worlds: Hip-Hop and comic book culture.

Greene, celebrated for his work on Bitter Root and Power Man and Iron Fist, found himself in the unusual, awkward position of being both creator and fan.

For Nas, co-founder of the modern Mass Appeal, the collaboration represented something deeper than another creative venture. It was yet another opportunity to share space with Slick Rick, a pioneering storyteller.

The discussion touched on the forthcoming comic book collaboration involving the X-Men, Greene’s artistic interpretations the belief that Hip-Hop must continue to grow despite forces threatening its progress.

Sanford Greene: This is a dream come true for me, to be able to conversate with two of the GOATs. Give it up for the GOATs, guys! (Crowd roars)

I met these brothers last year for the first time. Look, I ain’t going to lie to you. I turned into a fan. I couldn’t even get my words together. Even right now, I’m like, I can’t believe I’m on stage with the GOATs.

And to be able to create this incredible world, how does it feel to see this now come to fruition?

Nas: What’s up, y’all?

This right here, I got to thank you because you are just an incredible, incredible man with your skills. And to be sitting here with one of my heroes, Slick Rick, is everything to me.

Coming here and being with you guys is beautiful. And also seeing us guys with the X-Men is this different level of creative collaborations, man. So I just appreciate all of those.

Sanford Greene: No doubt, no doubt, man. I guess he’s already brought up the X-Men.

Nas: Oh, my bad.

Sanford Greene: It’s all good, bro. We’ve already talked about it. The fans have been waiting for this. They’re still waiting. Hopefully, the book will be ready sooner than you think.

Slick, with you being what I consider one of the foundations of what is built today, I think about pretty much all the legends that’s on this label. I think about Ghost, and Ghost literally quotes lyrics from your catalog.

What is it like being with all of your influences, all your influencers, the folks that look up to you? What’s that like?

Slick Rick: I see it like a melting pot, you know? It’s the future of civilization.

To me, the youth, if you ask the youth of any color what’s the music they listen to, it’s going to come back to me and the clique over here, type of a thing.

So it’s the future. We just got to nurture it, make it well, feed the public, you know, fight these demons that’s trying to stop it from flourishing, growing like a seed.

So we feed people. You study things like that.

Sanford Greene: That really encourages me because when I was designing your character, Slick, the first thing I thought about was obviously the jewelry.

I feel like the jewelry has some fantastical mysticism to it. And I started thinking about your persona and how you move and how you go about even your space, your spatial awareness. Everything is very [unclear] and very calm.

But Nas is like that too, right?

And I started thinking about when I was designing both of your characters, I wanted to personify mysticism, carrying that regal type of character.

So again, trust me, I was sweating bullets. I was hoping that you guys would like what you saw.

And I guess you like what you saw when you saw your characters coming to life on the page.

Nas: We love you.

Slick Rick: I love you. Thank you. You held us down.

Nas: No doubt. For sure.

For decades, rappers have borrowed from superheroes, villains and fantasy worlds to create larger-than-life identities. Slick Rick’s elaborate jewelry, regal demeanor and storytelling abilities already resemble the ingredients of a comic book character. Nas, meanwhile, has spent his career constructing vivid narratives that turn everyday street experiences into something cinematic.

Greene’s challenge was translating those qualities into illustrations without losing what makes the artists recognizable.

Perhaps the most revealing moment came from Slick Rick, who viewed the collaboration through a broader cultural lens. Rather than focusing exclusively on his own legacy, the legendary MC spoke about nurturing Hip-Hop’s future and confronting the obstacles that threaten its growth.

For Greene, bringing these two rap icons into the same creative universe as the X-Men was clearly more than another assignment.

And for Nas, sharing that universe with one of his own heroes made the experience even more special.

The larger conversation connects to Legend Has It…, the Marvel and Mass Appeal comic series launched at New York Comic Con in October 2025. Written by Brandon Thomas and illustrated by Sanford Greene, the project reimagines Nas, Slick Rick, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Mobb Deep, Big L and De La Soul through superhero mythology. 

The film follows Latif (Mahershala Ali), a devout Muslim who works as a hitman while trying to balance his violent profession with his responsibilities as a father. After the sudden death of his wife leaves him raising their three children alone, Latif finds himself facing an increasingly dangerous situation that ultimately forces him to confront his faith, his profession and the kind of man — and father — he wants to be.

What begins as an attempt to protect his children soon develops into a much more personal journey involving loss, grief, morality, violence and redemption.

Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother is a gripping film that feels vastly different from your typical action thriller. While the movie provides several measured and well-choreographed action sequences, they never dominate the story. Bassam Tariq is far more interested in exploring the humanity behind Latif.

This is a film that seamlessly blends elements of drama, crime, action and spiritual introspection while still managing to tell a story that feels both intimate and unconventional.

In terms of the story, I really appreciated how Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother explores the complicated relationship between fatherhood and faith while examining both Latif’s restraint and his capacity for violence. Latif is not presented as a traditional action hero. He is a deeply flawed man struggling to reconcile his chosen life with his responsibilities as a father.

While the film isn’t filled with nonstop action, when the violence does erupt, it is incredibly effective. The action choreography is sharp, brutal and grounded, with Mahershala Ali bringing impressive physicality to the role. There is a genuine sense of weight and consequence behind the violence that makes these sequences feel far more visceral than your typical Hollywood action spectacle.

Despite that violence, the narrative never loses sight of the emotional weight behind Latif’s actions.

Bassam Tariq also gives the film a distinctive visual identity, complemented by the beautiful cinematography of Katelin Arizmendi. The movie has an atmospheric, colorful and gritty quality while still finding moments of beauty within its dark subject matter.

The framing, production design and locations create an almost spiritual ambience, providing a purposeful contrast between Latif’s violent profession and his deeply rooted faith.

The supporting cast does a wonderful job as well. John Cho brings an appropriately menacing presence as Hwan Yoon, while Hollywood legend Giancarlo Esposito delivers another strong performance as Abdul Malik. Adia brings tremendous emotional weight to her role as Fatiha, Latif’s teenage daughter.

However, the greatest strength of Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother is the masterful performance from Mahershala Ali.

Ali brings restraint, intensity and emotional depth to the role, conveying grief, frustration, love and inner conflict through his expressions, body language and sheer presence. His performance here is another reminder of why the two-time Oscar winner is regarded as one of the finest actors working today.

Overall, I found Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother to be a unique and incredibly ambitious action drama that delivers much more than its premise initially suggests.

Beneath the violence, action and crime elements is a deeply human story dealing with devotion, fatherhood, morality and the lengths someone will go to protect the people they love.

The film kept me invested throughout its entire runtime, with very few — if any — issues to note. The finale does feature a key moment where the movie’s unconventional storytelling and ambitious themes may not work for everyone. Narratively, however, I found its execution emotionally gripping and exceptionally well-filmed.

In totality, I would say this is one of my favorite films of 2026.

Seeing how well Bassam Tariq and Mahershala Ali work together also makes it incredibly difficult not to think about what fans might have gotten from Marvel’s proposed Blade reboot.

Ali and Tariq were originally set to collaborate on Blade, but after a long and complicated development process, that version of the project never came together. Watching Ali command the screen here with his physicality, intensity and incredible dramatic range makes it difficult not to wonder what their version of Blade could have been.

Nevertheless, Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother is an incredibly rich film showcasing great acting, impressive direction, thrilling action and a compelling story that isn’t afraid to explore ideas far beyond the typical genre tropes.

Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother is now playing in select cities, with wider distribution expected in October.

This one comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of Mahershala Ali and conceptual, arthouse action thrillers.

Enjoy!

The Kingston-born icon emerged from Jamaica’s sound-system culture as a child and ultimately became one of Dancehall’s most recognizable global ambassadors. His résumé includes “Who Am I (Sim Simma),” “Girls Dem Sugar,” “Dude” and the Janet Jackson collaboration “Feel It Boy,” plus a 2001 Grammy victory for Art and Life. In 2024, Jamaica awarded him the Order of Distinction for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music and Dancehall.

Now Beenie Man is back with Eminence, a 16-track album that reconnects him with Mýa and brings Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Ashanti, Elephant Man, Etana and others into his universe.

But when Beenie sat down with AllHipHop, the album was only part of the conversation. He talked about what separates a genuine Dancehall clash from internet beef, why some modern producers are hurting riddim culture, and what really happened when police interrupted his legendary Verzuz with Bounty Killer.

Lastly, he explains why he’s still prepared to defend his crown after all these years.

AllHipHop: You’ve always been able to bridge gaps without people saying, “He moved over, he went pop.” How do you do that?

Beenie Man: It’s not popular. It’s getting somewhere where other people in other genres know you. If you stick to one genre, then you’re just going to be that one person. You have to move to other genres, but still stick to the Dancehall original.

I’m still a Dancehall artist, regardless if me sing with Mýa, sing with Janet Jackson. I’m still Beenie Man. When you come to a Beenie Man show, you still hear Dancehall music. It’s not like I’m going to do a Hip-Hop show.

AllHipHop: Is that what you were trying to accomplish with Eminence?

Beenie Man: We talk about being international and being a Dancehall artist at the same time, because I’m a Jamaican that becomes global. I’m not a global artist who tried to be a Jamaican.

I am a Jamaican that was in Jamaica, then came to America, then go to Europe, go to England, go to Africa, all over the world, and make myself who I am.

There’s no changes in me.

AllHipHop: How do you keep up with today’s Dancehall?

Beenie Man: We listen to Dancehall music every day because you have to listen to the young artists. You have to know where them inspiration come from. You have to know where them deh with the music, because if you don’t know that, then you’re not going to last in the business.

The greatest thing in music is to adjust and adapt.

Evolution is a must.

AllHipHop: There are plenty of clashes happening now. When you see artists going at each other, does it remind you of the clashes you came up in?

Beenie Man: No clash not going on right now.

Every man a sing music. A man sing a song about that man, and a man sing a next song about that man. Everybody listen to it on YouTube or everybody watch it on social media. That is not clash. That is not what me know.

Me come from sound-system days.

Clash is face-to-face. Me and you clash, we sing some song together. When me and Bounty Killer clash, we clash because we actually meet onstage.

AllHipHop: So you prefer that format over record-for-record?

Beenie Man: If an artist clash next artist, him supposed to clash him face-to-face.

The songs them bad, no disrespect to the artists. The songs them bad. But I feel like if an artist clash next artist, him supposed to clash him face-to-face.

AllHipHop: You and Bounty changed Verzuz because you were actually together.

Beenie Man: This is a clash!

Me and you go lyrics-to-lyrics and we show each other, show the world what’s going on. That’s a clash.

It’s not me in New York and you in California.

AllHipHop: Then the police showed up. What actually happened?

Beenie Man: There’s people there, man. Trust me. There’s people there. You have food people there, people there with drinks, management, producers and other people running the studio.

Police pass and see cars park up and thing, and them wonder what’s going on. So when them actually came in, we actually break.

Them come to me and say, “Yo, what going on?”

It’s live!

We have over 750,000 people online, and then you come ask me what is going on?

Do you want to be that guy? Seriously?

AllHipHop: That moment became legendary.

Beenie Man: And that is what a clash is. You entertain people and people be entertained. Them can talk about it at all times.

In my life and my music, when you work hard in the studio, you work harder onstage.

When you’re onstage and you perform, you have to move and you have to perform to the music. That’s the big difference between our clash and these clashes.

AllHipHop: You also came from an era where one riddim could have multiple classic songs. Has that changed?

Beenie Man: You have all of these riddims where you have 10, 15 artists and you have 10 hit songs on one beat.

Now you have one beat with 50 songs and it don’t make no sense. It’s only one song on the beat.

The new music can make, no problem with that, but you need to get back to what Dancehall is, where a producer actually produces.

When you have 40 songs on one [riddim], and 30 songs say nothing and 10 songs say everything, then everybody try play the 40 songs.

AllHipHop: Do politics between artists and producers play a role?

Beenie Man: You have different producers with different mindset. Sometimes the producer them have some artists who not too like you. So you’re not going to get the riddim because the producer don’t want to lose them artist.

Sometimes I feel like some people threatened by competition.

Me and you cannot have a competition because I’m here before you. You come here and see me. Me never come here and see you.

There’s a big difference.

AllHipHop: You and Bounty Killer have been through a lot yourselves. How did two legendary rivals eventually become friends?

Beenie Man: You know your enemy is your friend when we throw words upon each other, but we never knock fist.

And if somebody try to fight you, him try to defend you. Anytime somebody talk anything about you, him tell them, “Move from side with that.”

And I done the same thing.

So you know, alright, if you and this man link up fi talk, it easy. Them want talk to you and you want talk to them. This is how you know that you have a friend indeed.

Sometimes them do something really off, but it’s not for you to hang them up for that because that’s how they is from the first time. You know the person already. You can’t take it personal.

AllHipHop: After more than 30 years, Grammys and everything else, what goals are left?

Beenie Man: The goal now is just do it again.

You get Grammy, you win the next one. You get American Music Award, you win the next one.

Every award you win already, all you can do is just do it again.

The goal is not looking back and saying, “Okay, I have Grammy already. I have that already. I have this already.” So me stop? No.

It’s go further and forward and push.

It’s not about the awards and trophies and anything that you get. It’s about the music. And if you love this music, you’re not going to stop doing this music.

AllHipHop: Give me your top five Dancehall artists, dead or alive.

Beenie Man: Shabba Ranks. Super Cat. God rest him soul, Major Worries. General Echo. And my next Dancehall artist, to be honest, is Bounty Killer.

AllHipHop: After everything you’ve survived, do you still feel competition?

Beenie Man: When it come to competition, it’s not something me run from.

A king always fight for him throne. A king always fight for him crown. A king always defend him kingdom.

My kingdom is Dancehall.

I don’t know where you are about, or where you want to fight, but you can’t take my kingdom from me.

I am always here, and I will always be who I am.

Blessings.

In 1986, Queens duo The Showboys, Orville “Buggs Can Can” Hall and Phillip “Triggerman” Price, released “Drag Rap” on Profile Records. The strange, cinematic record was inspired by the television series Dragnet, structured like a TV episode. With gangster themes, powered by an 808 bass, it would eventually become known simply as “Triggerman,” unbeknownst to the duo.

New York moved on. The South did not.

“Drag Rap” became especially key in Memphis and New Orleans, where pieces of the record were repeatedly played, sampled, chopped and reinterpreted. The Triggerman sound became embedded in Memphis rap and one of the fundamental building blocks of New Orleans bounce. T. Tucker and DJ Irv’s influential “Where Dey At?” used “Drag Rap,” and the sound continues through generations of Southern Hip-Hop. And that’s not all – Beyonce, Chris Brown and more have sampled it.

The craziest part? The Showboys initially had no idea any of this was happening.

For years, Hall and Price believed their record had disappeared. Then they got a mysterious phone call from Memphis and everything changed.

AllHipHop’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur talked with Orville “Buggs Can Can” about creating the record in Hollis, growing up alongside Jam Master Jay, arriving in Memphis like heroes and discovering that a song New York had forgotten was now part of the musical DNA of the South.

AllHipHop: I’ve known you for a long time and never knew you were one of the guys behind this legendary record.

Buggs Can Can: Me and Chuck go back all the way since I was head of marketing, marketing manager for Adidas, and we worked together a long time ago. But before Adidas, I had a Hip-Hop life.

I’m from Queens Village, but then was adopted into Hollis when I went to Junior High School 192. Jam Master Jay, God rest the dead, my man Jay, we met in band class. From there, man, Hip-Hop entered my soul.

Seeing Russell Simmons walking up and down Hollis Avenue putting up signs. I remember getting on the bus in high school and hearing “Sucker M.C.’s” and was like, “That’s Run. That’s Run-D.”

I’ve been in it a long time, Chuck.

AllHipHop: You also know something about the story of how Jam Master Jay became Run-DMC’s DJ.

Buggs Can Can: There was only a few people in the neighborhood that could bring their equipment to the park. In Hollis, it was Two Fifth Down. Jam Master Jay was a part of them, so they could bring their stuff to the park.

When Run-DMC wanted a DJ, they asked Smith because he was the main DJ for Two Fifth Down. He just got a job and was like, “Nah, I’mma do this job.”

They went and got Jay.

But Jay became the style because Jay was the one in the street. Jay was real. Even when we talk about junior high school, I don’t know why we felt like we were adults back then, but Jay was a man. He had the hat on, his father’s leather jacket out of his father’s closet, the Adidas with no laces. And that became style.

Look at God. Things work for a reason.

AllHipHop: Let’s get into “Drag Rap.” We’re talking 1986. Forty years later, what was the DNA of this record?

Buggs Can Can: We were already signed to Profile. We had two records out before the record that we’re celebrating 40 years, “Drag Rap.”

What happened was, in that era, people started taking television shows and making records. Everybody in Hip-Hop at that time, you wouldn’t use the same record, but you would join whatever the trend was.

So we were looking for our TV show theme that we could use.

One day I was leaving the crib and I heard Dragnet, the detective show. I had my hand on the door getting ready to leave the apartment. I heard that and backed up into the living room.

At the time, Doug Fresh’s “The Show” was out, and when they said, “Word, Rick, word,” and the 808 dropped right after, that blew our minds.

I was a beatboxer at the time too, so I started humming the Dragnet theme and doing that drop.

I was like, “Oh, it fit.”

I ran out the house and went and got Trigg.

AllHipHop: And you guys actually started building the record around your Jeep?

Buggs Can Can: We went and sat on the corner, Hollis Avenue, same block as Jam Master Jay. I had a red Jeep at the time. When you bang on it, it echoed like an 808.

We wrote the whole record, but we didn’t write a traditional rap record with 16-bar verses and eight-bar hooks.

We wrote a TV episode.

Dragnet was a gangster TV show. So first of all, we changed our names because there was always a Bugsy in any gangster show. My name was Can, and anybody that knows me, I never say I can’t. So my name was Can.

Can Can worked with Buggs. Buggs Can Can.

Phil D became Triggerman.

There goes our names.

Then we wrote a TV episode with an opening narrative, introducing the characters, then the conflict. Then we went to a commercial break.

AllHipHop: A rap record with an actual commercial break.

Buggs Can Can: Yes!

“Oh no, what happened next? For goodness sake, stay tuned to this commercial break.”

Back then there was the Wendy’s commercial, “Where’s the beef?”

And let me say this, Chuck. We made this whole record from scratch. Every note in this record was built by us.

We didn’t sample. We made the record from scratch.

Then the first person we brought the record to was Jam Master Jay. When Jay heard it, Jay was like, “Yo, y’all should put that soap whistle over the top.”

That’s how that happened.

AllHipHop: The record gets out, Mr. Magic plays it, and then what?

Buggs Can Can: We got it on the world premiere, Mr. Magic. Then it got on the Mr. Magic Rap Attack.

Then, Chuck, the record disappeared.

It was off the radio.

Back then, we didn’t have BDS and SoundScan and all of that. Hip-Hop was so East Coast, really New York. If it wasn’t playing in New York, you really didn’t think the record was playing anywhere else.

We weren’t on those tours, so we didn’t know other places were playing Hip-Hop.

We went back to the streets, Chuck. Hanging on Hollis Avenue every day, 40s, just doing our day.

AllHipHop: Meanwhile, something completely different was happening hundreds of miles away.

Buggs Can Can: We got a call from my brother who told us a promoter from Memphis called us. This was years later.

They had been searching for us for years and couldn’t find us because the record was the biggest record in Memphis.

They said they wanted us to come and do “Triggerman.”

We were like, “Triggerman? We didn’t make no record called Triggerman. What are you talking about?”

We called the promoter and the answering machine came on.

It was “Drag Rap.”

So we’re like, “That’s our record, but why is he calling it Triggerman?”

He told us, “Man, we’ve been searching for y’all for years.”

We didn’t know about none of this.

We just wanted to get out of Hollis.

AllHipHop: Then you arrive in Memphis. What happens?

Buggs Can Can: We got our Eight-Ball jackets on, Chuck, our New York Yankees hats, and we went to Memphis.

We got there and there were people at the airport with signs saying, “Welcome Showboys.”

And there were three white limos.

Yo, we blew!

We were like, “What’s going on?”

Think about it. We thought we had been out of the music business.

We go to this place, and a lady sees our Eight-Ball jackets and hats and goes, “Y’all not from here.”

“No, we’re The Showboys.”

Chuck, within 15 minutes the whole restaurant packed.

People came for autographs.

We said, “Y’all coming to the show, right?”

They were like, “Nah.”

We said, “What do you mean? Y’all came down here to see us.”

They said, “Man, when they play y’all record, they get to buck.”

AllHipHop: That’s where you see the Gangsta Walk.

Buggs Can Can: They did this dance called the Gangsta Walk.

The only way I can describe it, Chuck, it looked like a roller-skating rink. Twenty of them walking together, and they’re going to Gangsta Walk.

If you ain’t a gangster, don’t get in that. Get off the floor.

Then it comes on the radio saying, “Please don’t go down in the area of The Showboys show. We will add another show. It is too crowded.”

They’re talking about their whole downtown being too crowded!

People were parking their cars two miles away and walking.

The limo is going through thousands and thousands of people. The driver says, “Y’all want to go to the back door?”

We were like, “No. Go to the front.”

Because we thought the record was dead, Chuck.

Then Trigg yells out the top of the limo:

“GET BUCK! GET BUCK!”

Oh my God.

It was chaos downtown Memphis.

AllHipHop: But Memphis wasn’t the end of the discovery. You eventually drive into New Orleans.

Buggs Can Can: We came back to New York. Phil bought a Nova because we knew they liked old schools down there. We painted it, tricked out the rims. The paint was still wet when we left. We had bugs all in the paint.

We went to Memphis, Little Rock, Dallas, Houston, then New Orleans.

We’re going across that long bridge, both of our first times to New Orleans.

Chuck, think about a group that thought their careers were dead.

As we’re going across that bridge, every single record, every single song, fast, slow, medium, got our sample in it.

It became like the roux in gumbo.

That’s what Triggerman became to their music.

It blew our minds.

We got off the bottom of the bridge, saw somebody and asked them where that radio station was.

We didn’t even go to our hotel.

AllHipHop: You went straight to the station?

Buggs Can Can: Straight there.

There was a DJ named Wild Wayne on. We just walked into that studio and said, “Yo, we The Showboys.”

He looked at us like, “Yeah, right.”

I said, “The rhymes you’re about to hear are true.”

He said, “YO! YO! YO!”

He went crazy, turned his mic on.

We stayed in New Orleans for about two weeks doing little shows and getting to know the music and the people.

AllHipHop: Forty years later, how do you look at what Memphis and New Orleans did with something you created in Queens?

Buggs Can Can: I can’t thank both of those cities enough for keeping it around this long.

New Orleans and Memphis really got hold of it.

And now we’re finally getting to the point where we’re getting our rights back, and we’re able to come back out after 40 years.

Because we The Showboys, man.

When we do that record, Chuck, we do that record.

Now we’re going to come back out and start hitting the streets again and hitting some stages again.

We can’t thank New Orleans and Memphis and the South enough.

It’s the little record that could, bro.

It came out the same year as Run DMC’s Raising Hell.

That’s crazy.