| Lil Keke from Houston, USA |
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| Written by admin |
| Monday, 28 June 2010 12:08 |
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You’re from South Park which is on the Southside of Houston home of legends such as DJ Screw and K Rino etc. Tell us about South Park and what was it like growing up there? Well you know growing up in South Park wasn’t any different from growing up in any other ghetto, just searching, striving and trying to get the chance to do different things. We grew up with the same dreams of wanting to make it big, it wasn’t as good as New York or close to being in New York, but everybody had the dream of being in a big city like that. So, growing up in South Park we had dreams like any other kid in the ghetto. You were in a group called Herschelwood Hardheadz. How did you all hook up? Herschelwood is actually a block in my neighbourhood in South Park. We grew up there, nobody really stayed on Herschelwood it was a block that everyone stayed away from, so we grew up claiming that block and representing it. Once I got into the rap game and did my first CD ‘Don’t mess with Texas’ in 1997 I came behind that with a group of guys out of my neighbourhood that were also doing rap. We grew up through the Screw tape era, we were the Hershelwood Hardheads and we put out a CD together. So, did you release one album together? Yeah, we only did one album. A couple of the guys ended up getting incarcerated and I ended up taking my career and going the other way. So, we only got to do one album. Back in the day you freestyled on a lot of Screw tapes. How did you hook up with the legend DJ Screw? And what was he like to work with? Well, I was one of the first artists to work with DJ Screw; I’m also the first Screwed up Click artist to drop his first solo album. Working with Screw back in the day was really exciting man. I was the best freestyler in my neighbourhood so my friend Steve took me to Screw’s house. Steve used to cut Screw’s hair so, when he got through cutting Screw’s hair, Screw used to let him cut some tapes. Screw heard me freestyle that one time and from that moment on he started letting me go there every week and freestyle however many times I wanted to. I became one of the biggest rappers that Screw. When you met Screw was he ‘Chopping and Screwing’ tracks already? Yeah when I went to Screw’s house the first time he was already ‘Chopping and Screwing’. He wasn’t as big and as popular but he was still doing his thing. Screw didn’t make his music for anyone at first he made his music for himself, it wasn’t for anybody to like it, so there wasn’t really any criticism because he was making it for himself. When people started picking up screw tapes and liked the slowed down music it was already understood that he wasn’t giving it to you or you weren’t buying it to see if you liked it, it was his style. It blew up and it was a time when nobody on the south side or nobody in our era even listened to the radio at all to hear fast music! It was a point in my life where I didn’t listen to any fast music. What were your thoughts when you first heard a track that was ‘Chopped and Screwed’? When I first heard it I didn’t understand it and I didn’t quite know what was going on. I grew to love it, it grew on everybody. He set a trend man it was different and we loved it. Man, he had certain artists like Biggie Smalls and other artists from certain places on there, I didn’t even know about these artists but I heard them through Screw. What was the first Screw track that you ever heard? The first Screw track that I heard was by an artist called Al-D the track was called ‘Whoop ‘em in, whoop ‘em out’. It was crazy the way Screw was playing with it, ‘Whoop, whoop, whoop me in, whoop, whoop, whoop me out...’ the way he just played with that. Man, there were people that used to think that the batteries where low in the radio! But it wasn’t...Screw set a trend man, he made a lot of people have a career and gave us a jump start, Screw did a lot for us and it was a beautiful thing. Fat Pat was like the second member of S.U.C how did you hook up with Fat Pat? Fat Pat is an original member of Screwed up Click. I’m going to tell you something real big that nobody knows....The Screwed up Click became affiliated with members and just grew. But, The Screwed up Click at first was me, Fat Pat and Screw, Screw was the DJ. Screw had a dream of being like Run DMC he was the DJ and me and Fat Pat were the rappers. Me and Fat Pat were the original Screwed up Click! As we all started expanding and taking off with our careers, Screw added more people and more people started to sell on Screw tapes and doing mixtapes and that’s when the Screwed up Click grew bigger. But at first the actual Screwed up Click was me, Fat Pat and Screw just like Run DMC! At that time did the 3 of you ever go out doing shows together? Yeah we did a whole bunch of shows. Me and Fat Pat were the 2 best freestylers in this city, everybody who came to Screw’s house, they asked for our mixtapes first. So, it started off with me and Pat it sounded like we were battling but it was friendly battle. So yes it started off as me, Pat and Screw freestyling plenty of times. But as the whole click got bigger me, Pat and Screw never really got the chance to be The Screwed up Click because it grew so big so fast and so many people were involved so fast. You released your first solo album the classic ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ which was released in 1997. Can you tell us about that? Don’t Mess with Texas was an album by the first Screwed up Click artist, it came out June/July 1997, I sold over 100,000 copies and I was the first independent artist. Don’t Mess with Texas was also the album that created the hit single ‘Southside’ it was real big. It was the first time that Screw music had ever been transformed into a legitimate regional music, from a freestyle all the way to the pen man. Until this day it’s always ‘Southside’ that gets voted on 97.9 The Box which one of the biggest radio stations out here, as the number one H Town classic of all time. What label were you signed to back then? I was signed to Jam Down that was the label that I released ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ on. How many albums have you released so far? I’ve released a total of 35 albums. Wow! So you’re constantly writing and recording! Yeah and I’m still releasing ‘em! I got a new catalogue and collection getting ready to come out on my website. You’ll be able to go to www.lilkeke.com and get all 35 albums, download all the albums and over 400 songs. I’ve sold over one million records independently over 15 years. Do they call you Lil Keke ‘The Don’ or Don Ke because you’ve released so many albums? They really call me ‘The Don’ because I’m like a quarter back I’m like the ‘Point Guard’ of the Basketball team. They call me ‘The Don’ because I’ve been here the longest I stand for something and I represent it well. I was given the name ‘The Don’ I didn’t just take claim of it. For people out here in the UK who may not have heard anything by you, which one of your albums would you tell them to checkout first? I would tell them to go and check out my latest album ‘Loved by few, Hated by many’ I dropped that album through Universal. They can also go and check out ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ and they’ll see the growth from my first release to my latest album. I also have a DJ Drama Gangsta Grillz mixtape out too. They can either Google Lil Keke or go to www.Swishahouse.biz and get any of my music. You’re signed with T Farris’ (Swishahouse) record label TF Records. How did this come about? By the time I got to T Farris’ label I’d sold over 850,000 albums so they already knew about me. I was big and I didn’t have a deal at that time I always stayed independent. Once they got their movement going to where they wanted to go they wanted to sign me. The South and North Side had their beefs back in the day but did anyone have any animosity towards you because you were affiliated with Swishahouse who are from the north side? Yeah a lot of people felt a bit of anger, but I’m a pioneer and I’m really the one that bought the city back together. There was beef between the north and the south back in the day it was about some cars and jackin’s and all that. I bought the city back together, the city needed to be reunited and brought back together because the north was blowing up, the south side had recognition but we needed to bring it back together. I’m the only one who had that strength and that power so I came up with ‘Chunk up the Deuce’ between the north and the south. I got UGK; Pimp C and Bun B, and Paul Wall on it and we shouted that man, it’s over. I knew I had the power and the skill to make that happen. You recently started a mixtape series called ‘7 13 Series’ can you tell us about that? It’s actually 7 13 (seven thirteen) not 713 even though it still means the same thing. I feel like I put this city on the map in a lot of ways, I started saying 713 and a lot of people started saying it. So, I started a new company and a new series called 7 13 (pronounced seven thirteen) I’m on the third mixtape right now it’s called ‘Addicted to Fame’ and it’s doing real good. Now we’re ready to do 713 the album ‘Unfinished Business’. I’m going to have every person from the 713 on it. Slim Thug, Scarface, Paul Wall, Bun B, Devin The Dude, J Dawg, Kila Kyleon everybody that’s done something from the 713 and other people like Gudda Gudda and Young Money, you know? Different people and it’s going to be a nice big album. So, I got the mixtape series and now I’m about to pull up and come with the album. We just got new tracks from Bun B,Yo Gotti, Drumma Boy, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League that track’s called ‘Acquired Money Gangsta’ and that’s for my new solo album coming out at the end of the year on TF Records. I’m just staying busy and stay working man and I hope there will be a time where I talk to you and I’ll have 50 albums out! Is your aim to put 2 or more albums out per year? If I can I’ll put out 3, 4 or 5 however many, but I do know less than 2. Like you mentioned earlier you released mixtape/DVD ‘Addicted 2 Fame Vol 3’ in April, can you tell us about that? What’s the DVD about? I do my mixtapes different I do them all with original beats, so the songs are really original songs. The DVD is more about the wrapping up of my career since I’ve been over here with TF Records on that 3 year run. It’s everything that I’ve done since I’ve been here to bring people up to speed to where I’m at now. Since I’ve been here I’ve been on 106 and Park, Sucka Free, Rap City, I’ve done videos like ‘Chunk up the Deuce’ ‘I’m a G’ ‘How the Hustlers’ do it’ ‘The day hell broke loose’ travelling with Paul Wall, you know? It just brings people up to speed and let them see all the success I’ve had since I’ve been here. What other projects have you got lined up other than your albums? The 713 volumes are going to keep rolling they will probably come out every month and a half. I also have a catalogue of my collection where you can buy all my 35 albums and that will be on www.lilkeke.com and when I drop the 713 album you’ll be able to buy all 36 CDs! What’s the scene like out there in Houston at the moment? To be honest it’s a great scene right now because the music game is coming back. The music is coming back the game is starting to get live again people are taking advantage of the opportunities, they’re working again. The radio stations are behind us, you know 97.9 is a big station. We have a lot of concerts and media here; we had a tribute concert for J. So you know, the city is trying to get back to where it needs to be. What up and coming artists should people look out for coming out of Houston? Well I’d tell you man, to look out for me! Also look out for Paul Wall, Dallas Blocker there’s a lot of people ready to come out of the city. Paul Wall that’s my bro he’s coming out in July, Bun B got a good album, so you know we’re working, we’re here so get ready for us! I know this may be a hard question to answer but what is your favourite Screw tape and why? Ahhh...... It’s not my favourite but I’m going to have to make it my favourite because it’s the last one me and Fat Pat did before he died. So my favourite Screw tape would have to be ‘It’s all good’. Lil Keke thanks for taking the time out to do this interview. Is there anything that you would like to add? I appreciate the interview thank you so much. I just want to add, look out for Texas, look out for 7 13 we are on the rise, TF Records. ‘Acquired Money Gangsta’s’ is on the way, 7 13 the album ‘Unfinished Business’ is on the way. Interview by Jai Boo
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| Last Updated on Monday, 28 June 2010 12:15 |
