When it comes to rap discourse, it’s truly hard to beat a conversation with KXNG Crooked. Having had the pleasure of speaking with the legendary lyricist several times now, it only made sense to introduce our brand new holiday special The 12 Days Of Christmas by chopping it up with the Rap Connoisseur himself. A veteran of Death Row’s climactic chapter, an innovator of the weekly release, a key member of Slaughterhouse, and most recently, a force in the world of hip-hop media. His word carries weight, and his insight remains a valuable asset for anybody interested in the rap game’s ins and outs.
A little while back, I spoke with Crook about the past year, a conversation that touched on the pandemic’s impact on the industry to some of the standout verses of 2020. Wise, easy-going, and never far from a cigar, Crook kept true to his historian roots with plenty of anecdotes about his own career. He even opened up about a hypothetical Slaughterhouse Verzuz battle, speculating on who would take home the prize were the four lyricists to compete.
For those who appreciate that deeper analysis, be sure to check out the full transcription of the kick-off chapter of our 12 Days Of Christmas special, starring KXNG Crooked. And there’s more where that came from. For the next eleven days, we’ll be bringing out more exclusive interviews with a variety of different names, each of whom will be offering their takes on this past year. For now, kick things off with a conversation with KXNG Crooked, as transcribed below.
The interview has been edited for clarity. Look for the full video interview to be hitting YouTube soon, as well as a few surprise developments lined up for the new year.
Day One: A Conversation With KXNG Crooked
HNHH: How you doin’, Crook?
KXNG Crooked: What’s goin’ on, brother? You good?
Last we spoke, you and Joell had just dropped off H.A.R.D. Now you came through and dropped Flag not too long ago. Despite everything that has gone on this year, it has been a pretty solid year for you musically.
Yes, sir.
How have these unique circumstances of 2020 and the challenges presented throughout, from coronavirus to the protests in the United States, impacted your creative process on a musical level — if at all?
Life gives us so many things to talk about in the booth, you know what I mean? You can never run out of material if you just pay attention to life. And some people always say “Hey man, how do you keep doing it after 20+?” I even hear other rappers being asked this question. “How do you keep coming up with material and things of that nature?” But if you just pay attention to life, there’s an unlimited amount of material. COVID made us all adjust our game, you know what I mean? I was strong on the Crook’s Corner. I was on my content game, you know. And then social distancing said “Hey, you gotta hold up buddy!”
So, I’m fresh off an Eminem interview about to roll into a Kool G Rap interview, and I had to shut down because of COVID. I had to adjust. So in that perspective, yes, it did affect me, but as far as creatively, I just never let nothing stop me because where I come from, if you stop, you might not make it. So you gotta keep grinding, you gotta keep working, you gotta keep going no matter what. And you gotta always think outside of your environment because your environment might be hostile but you gotta think outside of it. You gotta have bigger dreams than what’s going on. So my whole thing was “Aight, cool, this is bad, this is fucked up.” You know, it’s a lot of people hurting. I’mma do what I can to help people and I’mma keep on creating, ’cause nothing’s gone stop me, not even COVID, you feel me?
Definitely. As per usual with your material, there’s some pretty great writing and penmanship found throughout. I was just wondering in terms of all of the verses you’ve done this year, did you have one in particular that was one you feel would be submitted to the Verse of the Year competition?
Yo, dawg. So my fans told me — and they said it was cool for me to call them “fans”[Laughs]– They told me that I did 30 something features, indie features this year. 35, 36, probably more. But there are a lot of standout verses out there from me. Em, “I Will” on Music To Be Murdered By. That right there, I feel that’s the bar of the year. I feel like the Abraham Lincoln bar, “Ay bruh, I go ham for dead presidents. John Wilkes, that’s who I’m in the booth like.” The whole scheme, I just feel like nobody really tied all of that together as well. There’s been some lines about that, but I feel like that was the best that has been tied together.
Let me tell you, some of my punchlines and metaphors and similes, sometimes somebody builds on it and they make it better. I am like, “Why didn’t I think about that?” But on this particular one, I think that’s the bar of the year, the “Ay bruh, I go ham,” that’s the bar of the year. Verse of the year contender, ’cause there’s a lot of dope ass verses out there, you know what I’m sayin’, from a lot of titans and some Jedis came out to play this year. We got blessed. I would say the Russ joint ain’t too shabby. You know, the joint with Russ, the “Stockholm Syndrome” joint. What else, dawg? I rap with a lot of people this year. I got one with Sa Roc, but it hasn’t dropped yet. That verse is crazy. I’ma go with the Russ right now as a contender. But I got some things that are still coming that, oh my God bro. I need everyone to hurry and send their features back so I can drop.
Russ ft KXNG Crooked – Stockholm Syndrome
Man, the Russ one’s pretty crazy. I think both you guys snapped on that, actually.
Mhm. He’s hard, man. Russ got skills. A lot of people don’t like him because of where he stands. He’s very confident when he speaks. But he can back it up with the talent. It’s there. It’s dope, you know.
When I saw the tracklist of his new EP, I was really- I thought it was cool, a great lineup. A lot of MCs, a lot of lyricists, obviously yourself included, and you guys set it off with the first track. I like that pick from you for sure.
Good looking, man. Shout out to Russ and all his fans that have been coming on my timeline, shouts to them and what he built. Nothing but respect.
There really have been a lot of great verses this year. Who would you say, in this hypothetical verse of the year battle, who would you predict to be your biggest competition?
Something from Royce, something from Em. You know, they call us the holy trinity of lyricism, me, Royce, and Em. They put the church emoji when they talk about it. So definitely something from Royce, something from Em. I think Benny got it in this year. I think Black Thought got it in this year. That verse Black Thought did, well, any verse Black Thought did. The verse Black Thought did on Russ’ project, that’s a stellar verse. Benny too. So you got a lot of dudes out there who drop some killer verses. Eminem is always in the talks. I don’t care, they love to hate him. And a lot of people have been trying to push my homie out of the culture. They been making sly remarks – people with platforms. And this ain’t just me speaking from a homeboy level, this me speaking as a fan and a technician myself. You can’t push Marshall out the game. He’s one of the greatest pens to ever exist in Hip-Hop, and it ain’t gon change no time soon. They always get me when I talk about Em. But Eminem is one for sho. Royce got nominated for a Grammy, so you know his pen was going crazy.
Eminem is always in the talks. I don’t care, they love to hate him. And a lot of people have been trying to push my homie out of the culture. They been making sly remarks – people with platforms. And this ain’t just me speaking from a homeboy level, this me speaking as a fan and a technician myself. You can’t push Marshall out the game. He’s one of the greatest pens to ever exist in Hip-Hop, and it ain’t gon change no time soon.
Black Thought as usual. Sa Roc,she did some things this year that was incredible. Rapsody, you know what I’m sayin, incredible. Listen, we can go to the ladies, if you want ’cause I could talk about 3d Na’tee, I could talk about Lady London, I could talk about Snow Da Product. We could just go there too, so it’s a lot of competition out there. May the best man or woman win. That’s how I’m feeling. Y’all doing some sort of Verse of the Year on HotNewHipHop?
That’s always the plan. It’s usually me who handles that. But I found last year, I was like fuck, it’s too much. There’s so many good verses, I kinda simplified it to “Lyricists of the Year,” which I feel was kind of a copout in hindsight. I look at it like, I like to get specific. I like to really go into a specific verse, but every time I hear something good, I get back to thinking what could be the verse of the year? How do you even pick that?
Yeah, because it doesn’t have to be something flooded with syllables and cadences. I mean, we love that, but it doesn’t have to be. It could be something that just really touched your heart in a way nothing else did.
For sure. I think with all of the ones you said, Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture,” he had some great writing on that. I think he showed a side of his pen that a lot of people weren’t expecting and it really resonated. For me, one of the reigning things to beat was Conway’s “Spurs 3.” I heard that track, and I love Conway, honestly.
He’s incredible. He’s in his prime condition. He’s doing his thing. What else you got on there, man?
Obviously, I liked the Abraham Lincoln scheme. “I Will” has a lot of great things, but from Music To Be Murdered By? Verse of the Year level, I don’t know. In terms of Em’s what verse I would nominate…Verse 2 on “Marsh” was pretty good.
Yeah, that one’s dope.
In terms of bars, Royce’s intro on The Allegory, that shit was crazy. A lot of layered writing, that’s the type thing you have to look through. He had some lines there. This was a good year. Jay Electronica on “A.P.I.D.T.A.”
That one joint, yeah.
Image via Artist
I find it hard to listen to that song, honestly. It’s very difficult. It’s a very sad song, but one of my favorites of the year for sure. Very powerful writing.
Yeah, I like that Jay Electronica joint, man. And I like that “Ghost of Soulja Slim.” I feel like they used that clip from Farrakhan when he said, “Are you scared to death, negroes?” To me, that is so funny to me because I know so many people who are afraid to speak their minds, and it’s like damn, they really touched a nerve there. And I just feel like Jay really floated with the cadence. His delivery on that record was crazy. He just floated all over that record. Shouts to them too for getting that nomination. The Grammy nomination is looking like something HotNewHipHop would’ve done, you know what I’m saying, not the Grammys! [Laughs]
I was surprised to see that, honestly. I really was. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Grammys. I don’t want to be too disrespectful, but I have been disappointed by the Grammys in the past. I think most rap fans have. I think anyone who likes rap can agree on that, but this year…They had something tough to do. They had to balance the more lyrically-focused projects, and they also had to balance a lot of the stuff that’s coming from the younger generation that might not be as lyrical, but it’s still moving the culture forward and bringing a lot to the table.
I find that those two worlds coexist in an interesting way, and I was wondering if you had thoughts on that. Do you feel that some of the newer projects were actually, maybe snubbed? It was super stacked, a great list of Best Rap albums. Do you think younger listeners who might not be as interested in that type of hip-hop have the right to say, “Maybe Lil Baby, maybe Pop Smoke?”
See man, they just need people like us, bro because we know how to exist in both worlds. And that’s all you ever really need. But I believe Lil Baby should’ve gotten a nomination. I think Lil Baby should’ve gotten a nomination for sure. Some of those other names I heard floating around on Twitter, I’m not gon say it ’cause I’m not here to take shots at nobody. But I didn’t feel like some of those other names should’ve been mentioned, but Lil Baby for sure. I think he should’ve definitely got a nomination. He had an incredible year. He impacted the culture, and he’s dope!
You know, a lot of these young guys, they just need to sit and talk to the older guys that’s doing it – the veterans and the lyricists, the so-called lyricist community. They’ll find out that a lot of us like them. I listen to Lil Durk. I listen to Lil Baby, obviously. I listen to Roddy Ricch. These dudes is dope. Polo G. Polo G is dope. As far as being snubbed, they can absolutely feel that way because they put in the work, they made the impact, and like you said, they are driving the culture forward. You know, they not taking us back. There were wack people when I was 20 years old rapping. There were wack people then. There’s no age limit on being dope or wack. A lot of the old heads act like there was nobody wack back in a day. That’s not true. So we just want to see dope music being put out and the culture being represented the right way. And a lot of these young cats are doing it and I salute them. And so, yeah, you’re right. Definitely Lil Baby. Come on. Come on, y’all. Y’all ain’t gon put Lil Baby in there? Damn.
It’s tough, man. Ranking things in general. It’s kind of tough because on one hand it’s like… I don’t know about you, but I feel it’s a big part of hip hop conversation, a lot of rap fans really like to rank stuff.
[Laughs] For real!
Yeah, like top five, top ten, best album, you know, best discography, rank discography. And I really like that aspect, don’t get me wrong. But then I think it’s like, there are some negatives that come with that to, you know? Basing the worth of one thing off of the strengths of another…
We are caught in that storm bro! Because they want to rank everything. Every day is a Grammy nomination for Hip-Hop Twitter. Every single day, they’re ranking, and they want to know, “What do you think?” And so we get caught in it and it’s hard to not be. Like one piece of art against another piece of art. Why? But at the same time, I get it. Rap has always presented itself as a competitive sport, more competitive than other music genres. So that’s why they always, you know, “Yo, but who had the best verse?” We got that in Slaughterhouse all the time. We just trying to make a song. And people were like, “Oh, no, who had the best verse?” and all that kind of stuff.
And then you get in the middle of it, man. I know you caught up in the mix being at HotNewHipHop because we in the trenches. I see HotNewHipHop crawl down the timeline with the rap discussions. It’s not that many of us left, talking real rap on Twitter. So in the trenches, they want to know, hey, who’s the best?
To quote Royce, it’s a trick! Because I think people will use that hyperbole to get your attention and say, ‘Oh, Jay-Z the greatest rapper of all time, he’s the GOAT, he’s the best.’ And then when they have someone who’s challenging that perspective, it allows them to get to the critical thinking, the actual breaking down of why Jay’s the GOAT. So, you know, you don’t want to necessarily take away from other rappers, but you want to celebrate a lot of the strength that you know, in this example, Jay-Z has. So, like, I think that when people are looking for the best verse on the “Slaughterhouse” record, I think they just want to hear that lively discussion with people who also like the song. So I think there’s a lot of good that comes from it, but something that I think about every once in a while, you know.
Yeah, yeah, good man. We’re going to keep ranking him because we got to talk to the people and the people want to talk about it. So, hey, let’s talk about it. Sorry, rappers. What I don’t like, bro, is when they always @ the rappers. If we’re talking to these, if we’re talking about these rappers, you don’t got to @ them, bro. We need some sort of a way to try to just, you know, I mean, establish that as a rule in rap discussions on Twitter. Don’t @ the person that we’re talking about! We’re in the barbershop right now having a conversation amongst each other. We’re not talking to them. We’re talking about them. [Laughs] So you bring them into the conversation, and now people’s feelings get hurt and all this kind of stuff, like, no, leave them out. But that’s just me.
It’s a party foul sure. I mean, and this is like the worst segway ever — but the best as well, because it’s all about ranking — If Slaughterhouse were to engage in a four-way Verzuz battle, who is walking out on top? That’s my question.
That’s a good ass question because you got Mood Muzik. The Mood Muzik series now. Are we talking about a popularity contest? Because if it’s a popularity contest, Joe has a good advantage there. He has a good advantage if we’re talking like that. As far as that goes, if we’re talking about just playing bangers each? It’s going to all go down with the Mood Muzik series for Joe. You could pick anything from Royce. He hits targets. When he when he makes his projects he hits fucking targets. I know, Joell, I’m going to say he’s going to pull out probably this right here [pulls up a Monday vinyl], this Monday right here. Monday, Mona Lisa. I keep the gang around. He’s got a lot of dope shit that he could pull. You know, I’m going to probably hit them with a bunch of Hip Hop Weeklies from the first Hip Hop Weekly series, because hip-hop heads around the world have told me
from Young And Hungry Entertainment https://ift.tt/380URAF
via Young And Hungry Ent.
source https://youngandhungryent.blogspot.com/2020/12/kxng-crooked-debates-verse-of-year.html
from Young And Hungry Entertainment https://ift.tt/348FrJH
via Young And Hungry Ent.
source https://youngandhungryent.blogspot.com/2020/12/kxng-crooked-debates-verse-of-year_13.html
from Young And Hung
from Young And Hungry Entertainment https://ift.tt/37osayE
via Young And Hungry Ent.
No comments:
Post a Comment