AEOP: What's up Shock?
Shock G: Just getting readjusted to the states from 3-weeks in australia. Australia's like the U.S. in the 40s or Capetown in the 70s; "No Brothas Allowed". Local natives live mostly on land reservations, like native americans here, with little left of their original culture. Very sad.
AEOP: So, tell us a little bit about your childhood and adolescence? Where did you grew up and what was it like?
Shock G: I grew up in a family that was half Huxtable (Cosby) and half Evans (Goodtimes). My dad chased cooperate opportunity which moved the family a few times and later when I was 12 my parents divorced, so my childhood was back n forth between NYC & Tampa, mostly Tampa. Dads intellectual Brooklyn (Clinton Hill, Bedstye) Black Mason side of the family were the "Huxtables" and moms bronx & brooklyn welfare side of the family were the "Evans". Each time we moved, every 3 years or so, life would change drastically for me; from good student to flunky, from white neighborhood to black, from poor school to better school, from hip hop/jazz/subway-train-hopping up north to funk/blues/fishing & hiking down south, from popular kid to weird kid, and back & forth depending on which parent or which phase we were in.
AEOP: Right
Shock G: Pops "Eddie Racker" was a 70's & 80's "buppy" (means a black yuppie in the states) with the golf clubs in the volvo trunk and with the "Dry-Tini" license plate. That stood for his drink of choice back then; "I'll have an extra dry Tanqaray martini up with a twist". Me and my younger brother Kent were the 2 brown ones in a group of about 6 other kids adventuring around the company picnic getting into trouble & making fun of the grownups. Pops used to cook pancakes for all the kids in the nieghborhood every sunday morning, give us belt-beatings when we acted up, and bail us outta jail on those occasional crazy teenage weekends. Moms on the other hand "Shirley Jacobs" was an attractive, earthy & optimistic Erin Brockavitch type from a very poor family, who taught us to smile, be polite, decent & grateful in the world. Moms weapon of choice was a hot-wheel track and she'd light that ass up if we came home witta jacked-up report card. The whole neighborhood used to hear me scream from my moms beatings. Kent was the good kid, he didn't get many. One thing I must say about both parents is that they really took-in my less-fortunate friends, like family, and we'd often take an absentee-parent or alcoholic neighbors' kid with us to Disney World or to NYC for the summer. We always had fun pool parties and sleep-overs with friends from school and from the "other side of the tracks". Thanx mom & dad on that one.
AEOP: Uh-huh, how did you get interested about music in the first place? Was it always a first choice for you?
Shock G: Moms & Grandma were both serious music lovers, both used to date and support musicians from time to time throughout their lives. I'm named after Gregory Hines (RIP) the dancer from Harlem who mom had a crush on before I was born. The household was always full of music growing up; jazz, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, all the good positive spiritual stuff. Barry White would blast when she was mad at pops. I don't remember life before music. I never picked it for me, it was just always there. There was a piano in our house as a teenager. I played & produced for the other artists in my neighborhood. I was always in some band or DJ crew, always got voted most talented at school, and always sang or danced for the adults in my family. So the story goes.. when I was 5, I used to bust into the living room singing "Uptight" by Stevie to the applause of our guests.
AEOP: Was there any role models when you came up in the rap game? What kind of music you listened to yourself?
Shock G: I never looked for role models in music cause my parents were already pretty strict. Music provided the opposite for me, it was where I learned my wild n crazy. Sly Stone, James Brown, Rick James, Prince, Bootsy & George Clinton are precisely what's wrong with me. Prince taught my generation to be sexy, and George taught us to be free. George taught us the beauty in what's natural, nasty, human & funky. Like grits n seafood. Like rhythm-n-sex.Later when hip-hop came around, it seemed like every single artist in it, hip hop itself, was our role model. It didn't need to be said, we all seemed to know not to be too vulgar, rude or violent, it just wasn't hip-hop.
The first ten years of hip-hop was a clean, fresh, friendly & positive vibe; no heavy drugs, no heavy pimpin & hoin, no excessive violence or perverted sex in the lyrics yet, it just wasn't hip-hop.Yet. Rock was the american disgrace at the time with all the nasty drug overdoses, statutory rapes, stalker murders, excessive luxuries, etc. Back then hip hop was only mad at the establishment, not each other.
AEOP: Yea, where did you get your artist name Shock G?
Shock G:: While visiting Far Rockaway one summer, my cousin Shah-T from the queens ol'skool group "No Face" told me my original rap name MC Starchild was wack and that I should be "Shah-G" cause my name is Greg. I was 14 years old, deeply into Parliament/Funkadelic, and living in Tampa Florida at the time. "Starchild" was one of Georges' characters from the Mothership Connection album. Back then Shah-T(Shawn Trone), and DJ Stretch (Rene Negron, who's family lived on the 1st level of my grandmas house on B.47th street in Far Rock) were both skoolin me to the NYC hip-hop scene. The word "shah" is arabic for "king" and it was a popular emcee-name prefix back then due to the "5 Percenters" a division of the Nation of Islam that used to wear white robes and pass out literature on the trains in NY trying to teach & uplift African-Americans. But I misstook what he said for "Shock" G, and showed up at our next cassette-tape session with "Shock-G" rimes instead.
AEOP: Uh-huh
Shock G: At that time in Far Rock (around 1978) "Shock" was another popular emcee prefix like "Grandmaster" was uptown. There was a cat out there named Shock-Dell, a legendary emcee and an extraodinary comic-book artist, but crack-cocaine turned him nutty before he ever came out nationally. He was friends with Shah-T so I met him a coupla times before the crack got him and I had a few of his tapes. This nigga was NICE on the microphone. We all used to look up to him and another Far Rock emcee named Shah-Born who were both legendary in the Rockaways while the Furious Five and the Cold Crush were doing their thing in the bronx. Grand Master Caz, Busy Bee, Carlie Chase, DJ Grand Wizard Theodore With Cuts Galore were some of the names from the bronx cassette tapes. Brooklyn had emcee Woody Wood at the time.Another crazy-ill rockaway legend was MC Cartwright from Queens Village. He had the deep, intense, sinister, stop & go pause-flow like Rakim but in 78! When I first heard "My Melody" in 87 I honestly thought it was Cartwright. I was livin in Oakland California by then and said to myself. "damn, that brother finally kicked the habit and put a record out!"
AEOP: How did you hook up with Chopmaster J and others from Digital Underground? What’s the story behind the group's cut short?
Shock G: Chopmaster J (Jimi Dright) was one of my customers at Music Unlimited the pro-gear & musical instrument shop I worked at back in 88 in San Leandro California, just outside of Oakland. I was making house-calls tutoring him on the mini-recording studio he purchased when I first recorded "Underwater Rimes" and "Your Life's a Cartoon". I didn't have my own recording equipment, just keyboards & drum machines, so we agreed to trade services, I teach him while I get a demo done. I left a copy with him afterwards and he sent it to his homie Darryl Ross, a producer in LA, which eventually, 3 deals later, evovled into that 1st release through Atron and TNT records. Jimis offer was, "if my man puts it out, you put me in the group" and it was just like that.I was cool with it cause I dreamed of an interchangeable, bi-coastal, hip-hop supergroup, and had already taken an outh to pull in former crew members from back east if it should ever bubble.
AEOP: How about DJ Fuze?
Shock G: When it was time, I told Jimi "We need a DJ immeadiately to do this showcase for Tommy Boy records; my dogs back east can't make it out". Jimi discovered & introduced me to DJ Fuze who was in an Oakland group called MGM with Money-B & Mack-Mone at the time. Fuze brought Money to the studio sessions & shows so I started asking Mon to rime on stuff, most of which became the first album Sex Packets. My original intended DJs from my crew back in Tampa (the Master Blasters) weren't available for shows; Kenny-K had no turns or mixer or way to Cali, and DJ Flame moved back to the bronx, started a family, and was managing a bank. A year later, after working with me as D.U., MGM changed their name to Raw Fusion and began work on their 1st album.. "Live From the Styleetron".
AEOP: How did you come up with an idea of your alter egos like Humpty Hump and Piano-Man ? What's the story behind that?
Shock G: Just havin fun widdit man. Humpty sorta evovled from experimenting with my voice and from trying on crazy outfits for the "Doowutchyalike" video. And "Piano Man" was a ghost-name we used to credit the live piano solos on Doowutchyalike and Freaks of the Industry. We wanted people to imagine it was an established veteran keyboardist from detroit somewhere, who might of been down with P-Funk or Motown, instead of knowing it was one of the rappers.
I felt like it was too "Prince-ish", ..too "look at me, I play everything" for a rap-artist at the time. In the late 80s, the less an emcee knew about "real music" the more b-boy he was considered, so I guessed I dumbed-down my abilities a bit so it didn't distract anything from my b-boy status or from the vocal performance.
AEOP: Digital Underground was here in Finland somewhere –89. Do you remember anything from that trip? From what I have understood, Tupac was not with you that time?
Shock G: You're right, Tupac wasn't traveling wit' us yet. We had met Pac by then and were negotiating signing him to TNT & helping him with his album/demo-n-all, but didn't actually start working with him till after that tour in early 1990. Sure, I remember a gang'a shit from that tour! Crazy shit! Like over there they were feelin Doowutchyalike and Danger Zone but they weren't really into the Humpty Dance like the states was. It was too goofy & gimicky for europe, they seemed to prefer the more "intellectual" message stuff over there. The shows were off-the chain though. And the ladies...oh my God! I remember one time during a blizzard, I let the group leave me at a bar in Helsinki with this fun little Finish girl who later promissed to know the way to this "gorgeous flat" she was house-sitting for a friend, and then almost freezing to death as we walked block after block and couldn't find it.
We eventually had to plead with strangers to buzz us in at a random apartment complex and thaw out in the lobby before we tried again. We finally found it by sunrise! Also, close by in Denmark, I remember meeting Cutfather & Soulshock for the first time, who later went on to produce 2Pac stuff with us for his 3rd album, Me Against the World. But specifically about Finland I remember not believing my eyes at how every woman I looked at, in all types of service positions from flight attendant to postal worker, all would've been considered super-models in the states, but to the swedish guys they were just typical & uninteresting. I couldn't believe it. Years later in NYC 1998, after a "Who Got the Gravy?" studio session, a swedish engineer and I went to see Kraftwerk live in midtown manhatten.
During the concert, within our flirting & recruiting attempts towards stray women in groups of two, I distinctly remember how unimpressed he was with the ones I would pick out; "naw man, she looks like my fuckin sister!" He shunned away from all the skinny blondes! Meanwhile I was frownin-up at his choices, too typically american for me! I believe we finally agreed and went for a drink with a suitable pair afterwards. (hee hee, the party continues!)
AEOP: What’s your most positive memory from the time you rocked the world with Digital Underground?
Shock G: Most positive memory? Probably when D.U. unexpectedly closed the show at the 2Pac birthday celebration 2 summers ago in Hollywood. Erika Badu dragged me on stage at the last minute and started playing her drum-machine live while I said a few things over her amazing rhythms. Eventually Money-B made his way up and the mic got passed around to everybody who was still on stage.Earlier that night Dead Prez, Medusa, and Erika gave full performances and during this improvised grand finale that I speak of, the owners, security, and the police all just let it run way past 2am, which normally is the strict absolute cut-off time for LA nightclub events. A magic night, purely magic.
AEOP: Sure sound's like it. How about the most negative one?
Shock G: My most negative memory? I'd rather not breathe anymore life into by even trying to think of it right now, much less say it.
AEOP: What's the situation with Digital Underground nowadays? Is there a possibility for a new album ever or are you commited yourself fully to your own projects?
Shock G: I think our "own" projects are still digital projects, just promoted under different names or with different focuses depending on who or what it is. For instance "Fear of a Mixed Planet" utilizes alot of crew members in the production and a whole lot of guests (14 guest emcees, 3 of 'ems first published work ever) just as we do with d.u., only we used my name as the artist rather than digital undergound just to give it a newer fresher appeal to DJs & programmers.
Perhaps there are 2 or 3 more songs inwhich I lead the vocals than a D.U. record, but not very much else is too unusual I believe. Money-B appears, Humpty, Numskull, etc. We were even blessed with Q-Berts turntable wizardry on a couple. As well, the entire entourage still shows up at the various individual projects & events, like the Sex n the Studio parties, the various video shoots, the many local live shows here in Cali, the Annual Gutfest d.u. BBQ, etc. Also don't forget to check out all the latest D.U. & family related albums that are available @shockg.com on our "Merchandise" page, and also lots of free MP3 downloads are available from the "Discography" page.
AEOP: Back in the days you had the production crew The Underground Railroad what happened to it? It kind of faded away.
Shock G: It was actually Pac who assembled and called that particular group of us "The Underground Railroad", but he only seemed to do it on his first album "2Pacalypse Now". By "Strictly 4MyNiggaz" he was already using a different set of producers so I guess he just abandoned that production name and as you say.. let it fade. After '2Pacalypse Now' when ever I produced stuff for him, I started listing my credit as "The DFlow Production Squad" to even further disguise the fact that I was wearing so many hats at the time. (shock, piano-man, Rackakdelic, etc.)
I still, in ' 94, wasn't comfortable with taking so much credit at once. Too many people were bum-rushing me for production-work, piano work, or album & storyboard sketches at the time, but my heart & focus in 94 was still with digital underground, Pac, Raw-Fusion, and Gold Money which was Pee-Wee, another 'Railroad' members' group. The convenient thing about listing "DFlow Production Squad" instead of "Produced by Shock-G" was that I could claim the credit when it was someone we wanted to work with, but when it was someone we rather pass on, I could politely say "I'll see if I can get ahold of those guys who helped me on that one, but sometimes they're hard to reach." Hee hee. Pac understood it, he thought it was brilliant, all the aliases n stuff. And of course later he worked some serious "hokis-pokis" of his own.
AEOP: When listening your new solo 'Fear of a Mixed Planet' it seems that you had more spiritual approach than ever before, was this done intentionally?
Shock G: Hmmm, I may just be more spiritually conscious now because I'm 15 years more mature than when we wrote Sex Packets. When I said I was the freak of the industry, I meant it, I was really heavily into sexual exploration and truly dedicted to her pleasure & satisfaction before my own even. I got off on that, still do sometimes. But I admitt these days I'm more concerned with long-term comforting her and satisfying her heart & mind as well, which requires more than just whip cream & cherries. If 'Mixed Planet' is more spiritual than past works, then perhaps I have evovled into a more spiritual person, but my intentions in the lab are the same as they ever were, to make something honest, interesting & original.
AEOP: It felt like it wasn't really Shock G in the means of Digital Underground but rather more personal and serious guy behind the mic.
Shock G: I guess. Well maybe not behind the mic, but definitely behind the piano I was attempting to be serious. Behind the mic sometimes I'm seriously silly and decidedly unserious. I think there's enough intensely serious emcess out there, the true voices of the streets and youth right now. The CNN reporters of the music industry. But occasionally we flip to the movie channel or the comedy channel for a little change of scenery right? Let digital underground, and Fear of a Mixed Planet offer a change of scenery. Even in times of war it's important that we remember to spread good word & smile whenever we can so that as a people we don't forget how.
AEOP: What made you choose 33rd Street as a label with this album? What was their strength that nobody else could offer?
Shock G: They specialize in established artists who have somewhat of a name already, so that they may come in after it's finished and help market & promote it only. Unlike other labels they are uninterested in helping to make or shape the record. They leave that up to the artists and give us true creative freedom. Other artists they've had success with are Ozzy Ozbourne, EnVogue, Charlie Wilson (lead singer of the GAP Band), and Kool Keith.
AEOP: It feels like a breath of fresh air with it's positive and also alternative message if comparing to most music out nowadays. Did you feel it was something needed in todays ignorance ruled rap game?
Shock G: I enjoy all the Pac, Biggie & Eminem clones that I hear out here, but the boundaries of variety and what's possible stretch so much further than I hear cats even imagining to take it. It seems everyone strives to go either that Pac/Dre/Em'/50 route or the hip-hop purist educated backpacker Talib/Common/Kanye route. But there are still millions of unexplored routes & possibilities out there from Kool Keith and Andre 3000 to some wierdo that hasn't even been born yet. I've had a good share of recognition in this life thus far, so I'm not trying to be wierd for recognition. I'm trying to make jams that me (..and people like me who bore easily) can enjoy and call their own. I'm being true to my naturally peaceful, goofy & joyous nature, cause it's honest, and also to encourage others to let go of their own "what's expected" steering wheel and trust their very-own uniqueness. Can you imagine all the new & different music we would hear if people just stopped following in the steps of the emcee before them?
AEOP: Yeah, I feel you.
Shock G: Thank god Pac didn't sound like early 80s emcees when he came out in the 90s. If you sound, act or think like Pac, Emimen or Jay-Z in 2005, you're definitely not on their level, cause they didn't sound, think or act like any 10-year ago emcees when they came out. NWA & Pac would'a sounded like the Sugarhill Gang for christs sake!
AEOP: It was great to see how you hooked up with some OG’s in the game like Ray Luv, Money B and Numskull. Is there going to be more collaborations with these artists in the future?
Shock G: Jah willing.
AEOP: I loved the way you mentioned Tupac on your album when you said "You really want to be like 'Pac?" "Read, shorty, read." I mean there a lot of people who think the way to potray Tupac is to be something completety different when the real power with Tupac was knowledge whole time. How do you see this?
Shock G: You answered it perfectly within the question itself. His power was in his knowledge & wisdom. The courage to speak out and "act up" was just the gravy. The meat & potatoes was his knowledge. Pac studied. Alot.
AEOP: Tell us something about your new project Shockwaves. I heard its some kind of compilation?
Shock G: Shockwaves isn't really a new project at all, it's just a greatest hits compilation of stuff in which I did the music, stuff I produced & mixed. It's something we only sell from the site (shockg.com) and at the shows. It's for when one might be in the mood for my production style but not specifically Pac or digital undergrounds' vocals. 2Pacs greatest hits is about vocals, so is digitals greatist hits albums. But what if it's the music that you're vibing and relating to, then either group or persons greatest hits doesn't span the full shock-production catalog, ya feel me?
AEOP: Yea.
Shock G: It's something that companies wouldn't do because they'd have to share rights and overlap different artists, which they never or rarely do for a producers catalog. It has to be all produced for the same label before they'd compile it. Like "The RZA Hits" for instance. It was all Loud/Wutang records stuff so they actually let him do it. If Shockwaves does well from the site, I'll use those stats to try to get Rhino or Interscope to really do it, with a booklet and individual song, album, and artist credit & photos n all. We'll see. It also features Saafir, the Luniz, Bobby Brown, George Clinton, and Mystic. I did a good one for Prince too, but we forgot to put it on there. (ha ha)
AEOP: Are there other projects you're working on right now or featured on?
Shock G: On deck is Yukmouth & Tech N9NE. I'm tryin ta lace those good brothas soon with some special music. I'm waitin on a new computer to use the Reason software with, mine just crapped out on me. And in the can already is 2 productions on Ray Luvs next LP, 2 songs with a young hip-hop group outta Salt Lake City Utah called "Inersha", 2 productions & guest vocals on bay area underground legend Assassins' next CD, and so far a small bit of production on Mopremes next LP to name a few.
AEOP: Okay, here's a rumor killer. In the book Static - My Tupac Shakur Story, your old partner Chopmaster-J mentioned about some rumors that there were some hard feelings between you and some members of Tupac's Thug Life crew. Result of that you beated down somebody. This was said to have happened somewhere around 92-93, before I Get Around. What's your version of the story or is there any truth on this from your perspective?
Shock G: What? Yeah right, whatever! I never know what the hell Jimi's talkin about. It's probably total bullshit. There was no fight with me & Thuglife. Jimi is a hype-master and a con-artist who's only gift is his ability to promote and exaggerate things & events. The joy and goodtimes we all shared on the "I Get Around" set is proof & documentation of the beautiful vibe I continue to share with Pacs Thuglife family to this day. Jimi you should question your sources sir, and get your facts straight. And oh yeah, mind your business.
AEOP: Great to clear this up.
AEOP: You had rough time some years ago when you had problems with drugs etc. You want to talk about that time? What basically drove you to that situation?
Shock G: I was just being an artist, trying to do the research, trying to dig for new colors & textures, trying to reach for the answers & explore all the nooks n crannies in my mind, and got in alittle over my head, that's all. There was nothing I was running from or that "drove me" into it, just started gettin alittle too regular widdit. However, throughout life, each time I look up and realize I've exhausted something or I'm stuck somewhere, whether it be drugs or greasy fried foods or negative people in my life or whatever it is, I eventually pull myself together and walk away from it. As I did with video games, cocaine, ecstacy, strip clubs, meat & animal products, and many other addictive "traps". I even walked away from TV and haven't connected one yet at my latest place of 3 years so far. And as I will do with cigarettes eventually, but I'm still a studio and occasional nightclub puffer. (yuck!)
AEOP: What do you think about the new Tupac album Loyal To The Game and the way his music is being handled?
Shock G: I guess it's cool, I'm not real familiar with this last one yet. Assassin bumped it for me in his truck once in january. I've been bumpin alot of totally different stuff lately, like Ray Charles, (really old Ray like the 1947 & '48 Tampa Florida mostly instrumental blues recordings), Tech N9NEs' last 2 albums, "The Dead Can Dance" by Spiritchaser.. an amazing native american group, and alot of whoever I'm currently working with. I listen to the radio about 4 or 5 times a month too, and I roam from rap to classical to jazz to rock.
AEOP: How do you see the difference between that Tupac media potrayed, and the one who you knew personally?
Shock G: You must read my essay on Tupac at shockg.com, it's about that very subject. From the main "gate" page click on "You Ain't Knowin?" (one of the square links along the bottom), then go to "The Shakur Legacy".
AEOP: Do you have any favorite memories concerning Tupac that comes to your mind when you think about him?
Shock G: Yeah, my visual of him playing basketball with us on tour. He had the craziest looking jumper! It was similar to his jump at the end of the Humpty Dance, sideways. To see this you gotta find a copy of the DVD "Digital underground/Raw Uncut" a documusical of us behind the scenes and on stage. Go to scene number 3 or maybe 4, and watch Pacs' Humpty Dance from an old Big Daddy Kane tour. Monie Love (female London rapper) is dancin with Pac in the shot. That's one, but there's so many, it just depends on what mood and which Pac moment flashes or is brought up. I have many many favorites from all my homies, not just the deceased or famous ones. Pacs blend in with everybodys.
AEOP: Yeah.
Shock G: But most of my favorite Pac memories & moments are simple, mundane & subtle, and would probably only make sense to me. It's nothing dramatic or historical like you probably want to hear, all that kinda stuff already made the news. It's more like little quick visual fragments, like the way he joyously giggled after I told him "we're doing club MTV tomorrow". Or when he walked by me on stage and jokingly said "yeah, sure it's the wig!" after I got wig-hair caught in my mouth at Summer Jam ' 91 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in northern cali. Fun little audio-visual bites.
AEOP: It has been now eight years since Tupac passed, what are your thoughts now when you look back to DU days and so on? What's your topmost feeling?
Shock G: My topmost feelings are about things that happened this week, yesterday, and stuff I'm gonna do next week. I don't spend alot of time thinking about 5, 10, 20 or 30 years ago, I just don't. If I try to focus on those years you mentioned I usually have the same thought, "Wow, all that stuff happened to us? That's too much to think about" and snap myself back to my current dicision: "Should I get a diet coke or an orange juice with this sandwich? Should we park in front or in back of the building? Should I take this call or should I finish this email first? Is that her feet or my feet smellin' up the backseat like that?" Ya know, normal shit.
AEOP: What is your relationship with Thug Life/Outlaw members?
Shock G: Good. We have a mutual respect, distant family/cousins type relationship. I say distant cause I don't see them much these days. They don't come around the d.u. scene that much, but every now & then like at the last Sex n the Studio party I seen 'em. But I don't pop up at their functions so much either. I'm like 12 years older then them cats so we have different energies & focuses, different agendas. Like me & Pac, we had a 7 year age difference so even when we stood for the same things, our approaches were usually different.
AEOP: Uh-huh
Shock G: I mostly saw Pac when we were "at work"; studio, rehearsals, stage, release parties, videos, business meetings, etc. After that we always went our seperate ways, like most parties split afterwards into different age groups. The cats my age at the time (25 to 35) would go one way, the cats his age (15 to 25) would go the other. Then we'd all meet up the next day at the next function. I'll be 42 this august, so I guess I take things a little slower than they do and have different day to day habits n whatever. But I love them cats like blood family, the blood was Pac, and they can call on me anytime for anything and I'm there.
AEOP: Will we ever see you on any Thug Life/Outlaw releases? Mopreme is releasing his debut album in this year and I think you would fit perfectly in it. What do you think?
Shock G: I think I'm already on his album as a co-producer and as the Piano Man so far and hope to do more jah willing and if the opportunity presents itself. Also Mo & I've been doin some occassional collaboratin' at live shows and other events lately. We did the Sway & Techs' Wakeup Show together recently (syndicated radio), as well as a benifit show in NYC last summer for his dad Mutulus' defense, and a handful of digital underground live band shows around california.
AEOP: What's your plans for this year, future visions for your career? Anything you still want to archieve or maybe explore new ventures?
Shock G: Yeah, I wanna do some good stuff hopefully with Yukmouth this year & Tech N9NE jah willing. Those two cats are natural stars, by nature, not by association; you should see the chicks when they show up! I need a new whip too, I'd like to earn enuff money this year to trade in my hooptie which is 71 Alfa Romeo with an oil leak and no windows and get somethin halfway nice. So I can start rollin' around LA in style, I haven't done that yet in the 3 years since I've lived here. Maybe then I can get a date with Lucy Lui. She's the hottest to me!
AEOP: Thanks for your time Shock! We really appreciate this.
http://www.alleyezonpac.com/php/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=34
Shock G: Just getting readjusted to the states from 3-weeks in australia. Australia's like the U.S. in the 40s or Capetown in the 70s; "No Brothas Allowed". Local natives live mostly on land reservations, like native americans here, with little left of their original culture. Very sad.
AEOP: So, tell us a little bit about your childhood and adolescence? Where did you grew up and what was it like?
Shock G: I grew up in a family that was half Huxtable (Cosby) and half Evans (Goodtimes). My dad chased cooperate opportunity which moved the family a few times and later when I was 12 my parents divorced, so my childhood was back n forth between NYC & Tampa, mostly Tampa. Dads intellectual Brooklyn (Clinton Hill, Bedstye) Black Mason side of the family were the "Huxtables" and moms bronx & brooklyn welfare side of the family were the "Evans". Each time we moved, every 3 years or so, life would change drastically for me; from good student to flunky, from white neighborhood to black, from poor school to better school, from hip hop/jazz/subway-train-hopping up north to funk/blues/fishing & hiking down south, from popular kid to weird kid, and back & forth depending on which parent or which phase we were in.
AEOP: Right
Shock G: Pops "Eddie Racker" was a 70's & 80's "buppy" (means a black yuppie in the states) with the golf clubs in the volvo trunk and with the "Dry-Tini" license plate. That stood for his drink of choice back then; "I'll have an extra dry Tanqaray martini up with a twist". Me and my younger brother Kent were the 2 brown ones in a group of about 6 other kids adventuring around the company picnic getting into trouble & making fun of the grownups. Pops used to cook pancakes for all the kids in the nieghborhood every sunday morning, give us belt-beatings when we acted up, and bail us outta jail on those occasional crazy teenage weekends. Moms on the other hand "Shirley Jacobs" was an attractive, earthy & optimistic Erin Brockavitch type from a very poor family, who taught us to smile, be polite, decent & grateful in the world. Moms weapon of choice was a hot-wheel track and she'd light that ass up if we came home witta jacked-up report card. The whole neighborhood used to hear me scream from my moms beatings. Kent was the good kid, he didn't get many. One thing I must say about both parents is that they really took-in my less-fortunate friends, like family, and we'd often take an absentee-parent or alcoholic neighbors' kid with us to Disney World or to NYC for the summer. We always had fun pool parties and sleep-overs with friends from school and from the "other side of the tracks". Thanx mom & dad on that one.
AEOP: Uh-huh, how did you get interested about music in the first place? Was it always a first choice for you?
Shock G: Moms & Grandma were both serious music lovers, both used to date and support musicians from time to time throughout their lives. I'm named after Gregory Hines (RIP) the dancer from Harlem who mom had a crush on before I was born. The household was always full of music growing up; jazz, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, all the good positive spiritual stuff. Barry White would blast when she was mad at pops. I don't remember life before music. I never picked it for me, it was just always there. There was a piano in our house as a teenager. I played & produced for the other artists in my neighborhood. I was always in some band or DJ crew, always got voted most talented at school, and always sang or danced for the adults in my family. So the story goes.. when I was 5, I used to bust into the living room singing "Uptight" by Stevie to the applause of our guests.
AEOP: Was there any role models when you came up in the rap game? What kind of music you listened to yourself?
Shock G: I never looked for role models in music cause my parents were already pretty strict. Music provided the opposite for me, it was where I learned my wild n crazy. Sly Stone, James Brown, Rick James, Prince, Bootsy & George Clinton are precisely what's wrong with me. Prince taught my generation to be sexy, and George taught us to be free. George taught us the beauty in what's natural, nasty, human & funky. Like grits n seafood. Like rhythm-n-sex.Later when hip-hop came around, it seemed like every single artist in it, hip hop itself, was our role model. It didn't need to be said, we all seemed to know not to be too vulgar, rude or violent, it just wasn't hip-hop.
The first ten years of hip-hop was a clean, fresh, friendly & positive vibe; no heavy drugs, no heavy pimpin & hoin, no excessive violence or perverted sex in the lyrics yet, it just wasn't hip-hop.Yet. Rock was the american disgrace at the time with all the nasty drug overdoses, statutory rapes, stalker murders, excessive luxuries, etc. Back then hip hop was only mad at the establishment, not each other.
AEOP: Yea, where did you get your artist name Shock G?
Shock G:: While visiting Far Rockaway one summer, my cousin Shah-T from the queens ol'skool group "No Face" told me my original rap name MC Starchild was wack and that I should be "Shah-G" cause my name is Greg. I was 14 years old, deeply into Parliament/Funkadelic, and living in Tampa Florida at the time. "Starchild" was one of Georges' characters from the Mothership Connection album. Back then Shah-T(Shawn Trone), and DJ Stretch (Rene Negron, who's family lived on the 1st level of my grandmas house on B.47th street in Far Rock) were both skoolin me to the NYC hip-hop scene. The word "shah" is arabic for "king" and it was a popular emcee-name prefix back then due to the "5 Percenters" a division of the Nation of Islam that used to wear white robes and pass out literature on the trains in NY trying to teach & uplift African-Americans. But I misstook what he said for "Shock" G, and showed up at our next cassette-tape session with "Shock-G" rimes instead.
AEOP: Uh-huh
Shock G: At that time in Far Rock (around 1978) "Shock" was another popular emcee prefix like "Grandmaster" was uptown. There was a cat out there named Shock-Dell, a legendary emcee and an extraodinary comic-book artist, but crack-cocaine turned him nutty before he ever came out nationally. He was friends with Shah-T so I met him a coupla times before the crack got him and I had a few of his tapes. This nigga was NICE on the microphone. We all used to look up to him and another Far Rock emcee named Shah-Born who were both legendary in the Rockaways while the Furious Five and the Cold Crush were doing their thing in the bronx. Grand Master Caz, Busy Bee, Carlie Chase, DJ Grand Wizard Theodore With Cuts Galore were some of the names from the bronx cassette tapes. Brooklyn had emcee Woody Wood at the time.Another crazy-ill rockaway legend was MC Cartwright from Queens Village. He had the deep, intense, sinister, stop & go pause-flow like Rakim but in 78! When I first heard "My Melody" in 87 I honestly thought it was Cartwright. I was livin in Oakland California by then and said to myself. "damn, that brother finally kicked the habit and put a record out!"
AEOP: How did you hook up with Chopmaster J and others from Digital Underground? What’s the story behind the group's cut short?
Shock G: Chopmaster J (Jimi Dright) was one of my customers at Music Unlimited the pro-gear & musical instrument shop I worked at back in 88 in San Leandro California, just outside of Oakland. I was making house-calls tutoring him on the mini-recording studio he purchased when I first recorded "Underwater Rimes" and "Your Life's a Cartoon". I didn't have my own recording equipment, just keyboards & drum machines, so we agreed to trade services, I teach him while I get a demo done. I left a copy with him afterwards and he sent it to his homie Darryl Ross, a producer in LA, which eventually, 3 deals later, evovled into that 1st release through Atron and TNT records. Jimis offer was, "if my man puts it out, you put me in the group" and it was just like that.I was cool with it cause I dreamed of an interchangeable, bi-coastal, hip-hop supergroup, and had already taken an outh to pull in former crew members from back east if it should ever bubble.
AEOP: How about DJ Fuze?
Shock G: When it was time, I told Jimi "We need a DJ immeadiately to do this showcase for Tommy Boy records; my dogs back east can't make it out". Jimi discovered & introduced me to DJ Fuze who was in an Oakland group called MGM with Money-B & Mack-Mone at the time. Fuze brought Money to the studio sessions & shows so I started asking Mon to rime on stuff, most of which became the first album Sex Packets. My original intended DJs from my crew back in Tampa (the Master Blasters) weren't available for shows; Kenny-K had no turns or mixer or way to Cali, and DJ Flame moved back to the bronx, started a family, and was managing a bank. A year later, after working with me as D.U., MGM changed their name to Raw Fusion and began work on their 1st album.. "Live From the Styleetron".
AEOP: How did you come up with an idea of your alter egos like Humpty Hump and Piano-Man ? What's the story behind that?
Shock G: Just havin fun widdit man. Humpty sorta evovled from experimenting with my voice and from trying on crazy outfits for the "Doowutchyalike" video. And "Piano Man" was a ghost-name we used to credit the live piano solos on Doowutchyalike and Freaks of the Industry. We wanted people to imagine it was an established veteran keyboardist from detroit somewhere, who might of been down with P-Funk or Motown, instead of knowing it was one of the rappers.
I felt like it was too "Prince-ish", ..too "look at me, I play everything" for a rap-artist at the time. In the late 80s, the less an emcee knew about "real music" the more b-boy he was considered, so I guessed I dumbed-down my abilities a bit so it didn't distract anything from my b-boy status or from the vocal performance.
AEOP: Digital Underground was here in Finland somewhere –89. Do you remember anything from that trip? From what I have understood, Tupac was not with you that time?
Shock G: You're right, Tupac wasn't traveling wit' us yet. We had met Pac by then and were negotiating signing him to TNT & helping him with his album/demo-n-all, but didn't actually start working with him till after that tour in early 1990. Sure, I remember a gang'a shit from that tour! Crazy shit! Like over there they were feelin Doowutchyalike and Danger Zone but they weren't really into the Humpty Dance like the states was. It was too goofy & gimicky for europe, they seemed to prefer the more "intellectual" message stuff over there. The shows were off-the chain though. And the ladies...oh my God! I remember one time during a blizzard, I let the group leave me at a bar in Helsinki with this fun little Finish girl who later promissed to know the way to this "gorgeous flat" she was house-sitting for a friend, and then almost freezing to death as we walked block after block and couldn't find it.
We eventually had to plead with strangers to buzz us in at a random apartment complex and thaw out in the lobby before we tried again. We finally found it by sunrise! Also, close by in Denmark, I remember meeting Cutfather & Soulshock for the first time, who later went on to produce 2Pac stuff with us for his 3rd album, Me Against the World. But specifically about Finland I remember not believing my eyes at how every woman I looked at, in all types of service positions from flight attendant to postal worker, all would've been considered super-models in the states, but to the swedish guys they were just typical & uninteresting. I couldn't believe it. Years later in NYC 1998, after a "Who Got the Gravy?" studio session, a swedish engineer and I went to see Kraftwerk live in midtown manhatten.
During the concert, within our flirting & recruiting attempts towards stray women in groups of two, I distinctly remember how unimpressed he was with the ones I would pick out; "naw man, she looks like my fuckin sister!" He shunned away from all the skinny blondes! Meanwhile I was frownin-up at his choices, too typically american for me! I believe we finally agreed and went for a drink with a suitable pair afterwards. (hee hee, the party continues!)
AEOP: What’s your most positive memory from the time you rocked the world with Digital Underground?
Shock G: Most positive memory? Probably when D.U. unexpectedly closed the show at the 2Pac birthday celebration 2 summers ago in Hollywood. Erika Badu dragged me on stage at the last minute and started playing her drum-machine live while I said a few things over her amazing rhythms. Eventually Money-B made his way up and the mic got passed around to everybody who was still on stage.Earlier that night Dead Prez, Medusa, and Erika gave full performances and during this improvised grand finale that I speak of, the owners, security, and the police all just let it run way past 2am, which normally is the strict absolute cut-off time for LA nightclub events. A magic night, purely magic.
AEOP: Sure sound's like it. How about the most negative one?
Shock G: My most negative memory? I'd rather not breathe anymore life into by even trying to think of it right now, much less say it.
AEOP: What's the situation with Digital Underground nowadays? Is there a possibility for a new album ever or are you commited yourself fully to your own projects?
Shock G: I think our "own" projects are still digital projects, just promoted under different names or with different focuses depending on who or what it is. For instance "Fear of a Mixed Planet" utilizes alot of crew members in the production and a whole lot of guests (14 guest emcees, 3 of 'ems first published work ever) just as we do with d.u., only we used my name as the artist rather than digital undergound just to give it a newer fresher appeal to DJs & programmers.
Perhaps there are 2 or 3 more songs inwhich I lead the vocals than a D.U. record, but not very much else is too unusual I believe. Money-B appears, Humpty, Numskull, etc. We were even blessed with Q-Berts turntable wizardry on a couple. As well, the entire entourage still shows up at the various individual projects & events, like the Sex n the Studio parties, the various video shoots, the many local live shows here in Cali, the Annual Gutfest d.u. BBQ, etc. Also don't forget to check out all the latest D.U. & family related albums that are available @shockg.com on our "Merchandise" page, and also lots of free MP3 downloads are available from the "Discography" page.
AEOP: Back in the days you had the production crew The Underground Railroad what happened to it? It kind of faded away.
Shock G: It was actually Pac who assembled and called that particular group of us "The Underground Railroad", but he only seemed to do it on his first album "2Pacalypse Now". By "Strictly 4MyNiggaz" he was already using a different set of producers so I guess he just abandoned that production name and as you say.. let it fade. After '2Pacalypse Now' when ever I produced stuff for him, I started listing my credit as "The DFlow Production Squad" to even further disguise the fact that I was wearing so many hats at the time. (shock, piano-man, Rackakdelic, etc.)
I still, in ' 94, wasn't comfortable with taking so much credit at once. Too many people were bum-rushing me for production-work, piano work, or album & storyboard sketches at the time, but my heart & focus in 94 was still with digital underground, Pac, Raw-Fusion, and Gold Money which was Pee-Wee, another 'Railroad' members' group. The convenient thing about listing "DFlow Production Squad" instead of "Produced by Shock-G" was that I could claim the credit when it was someone we wanted to work with, but when it was someone we rather pass on, I could politely say "I'll see if I can get ahold of those guys who helped me on that one, but sometimes they're hard to reach." Hee hee. Pac understood it, he thought it was brilliant, all the aliases n stuff. And of course later he worked some serious "hokis-pokis" of his own.
AEOP: When listening your new solo 'Fear of a Mixed Planet' it seems that you had more spiritual approach than ever before, was this done intentionally?
Shock G: Hmmm, I may just be more spiritually conscious now because I'm 15 years more mature than when we wrote Sex Packets. When I said I was the freak of the industry, I meant it, I was really heavily into sexual exploration and truly dedicted to her pleasure & satisfaction before my own even. I got off on that, still do sometimes. But I admitt these days I'm more concerned with long-term comforting her and satisfying her heart & mind as well, which requires more than just whip cream & cherries. If 'Mixed Planet' is more spiritual than past works, then perhaps I have evovled into a more spiritual person, but my intentions in the lab are the same as they ever were, to make something honest, interesting & original.
AEOP: It felt like it wasn't really Shock G in the means of Digital Underground but rather more personal and serious guy behind the mic.
Shock G: I guess. Well maybe not behind the mic, but definitely behind the piano I was attempting to be serious. Behind the mic sometimes I'm seriously silly and decidedly unserious. I think there's enough intensely serious emcess out there, the true voices of the streets and youth right now. The CNN reporters of the music industry. But occasionally we flip to the movie channel or the comedy channel for a little change of scenery right? Let digital underground, and Fear of a Mixed Planet offer a change of scenery. Even in times of war it's important that we remember to spread good word & smile whenever we can so that as a people we don't forget how.
AEOP: What made you choose 33rd Street as a label with this album? What was their strength that nobody else could offer?
Shock G: They specialize in established artists who have somewhat of a name already, so that they may come in after it's finished and help market & promote it only. Unlike other labels they are uninterested in helping to make or shape the record. They leave that up to the artists and give us true creative freedom. Other artists they've had success with are Ozzy Ozbourne, EnVogue, Charlie Wilson (lead singer of the GAP Band), and Kool Keith.
AEOP: It feels like a breath of fresh air with it's positive and also alternative message if comparing to most music out nowadays. Did you feel it was something needed in todays ignorance ruled rap game?
Shock G: I enjoy all the Pac, Biggie & Eminem clones that I hear out here, but the boundaries of variety and what's possible stretch so much further than I hear cats even imagining to take it. It seems everyone strives to go either that Pac/Dre/Em'/50 route or the hip-hop purist educated backpacker Talib/Common/Kanye route. But there are still millions of unexplored routes & possibilities out there from Kool Keith and Andre 3000 to some wierdo that hasn't even been born yet. I've had a good share of recognition in this life thus far, so I'm not trying to be wierd for recognition. I'm trying to make jams that me (..and people like me who bore easily) can enjoy and call their own. I'm being true to my naturally peaceful, goofy & joyous nature, cause it's honest, and also to encourage others to let go of their own "what's expected" steering wheel and trust their very-own uniqueness. Can you imagine all the new & different music we would hear if people just stopped following in the steps of the emcee before them?
AEOP: Yeah, I feel you.
Shock G: Thank god Pac didn't sound like early 80s emcees when he came out in the 90s. If you sound, act or think like Pac, Emimen or Jay-Z in 2005, you're definitely not on their level, cause they didn't sound, think or act like any 10-year ago emcees when they came out. NWA & Pac would'a sounded like the Sugarhill Gang for christs sake!
AEOP: It was great to see how you hooked up with some OG’s in the game like Ray Luv, Money B and Numskull. Is there going to be more collaborations with these artists in the future?
Shock G: Jah willing.
AEOP: I loved the way you mentioned Tupac on your album when you said "You really want to be like 'Pac?" "Read, shorty, read." I mean there a lot of people who think the way to potray Tupac is to be something completety different when the real power with Tupac was knowledge whole time. How do you see this?
Shock G: You answered it perfectly within the question itself. His power was in his knowledge & wisdom. The courage to speak out and "act up" was just the gravy. The meat & potatoes was his knowledge. Pac studied. Alot.
AEOP: Tell us something about your new project Shockwaves. I heard its some kind of compilation?
Shock G: Shockwaves isn't really a new project at all, it's just a greatest hits compilation of stuff in which I did the music, stuff I produced & mixed. It's something we only sell from the site (shockg.com) and at the shows. It's for when one might be in the mood for my production style but not specifically Pac or digital undergrounds' vocals. 2Pacs greatest hits is about vocals, so is digitals greatist hits albums. But what if it's the music that you're vibing and relating to, then either group or persons greatest hits doesn't span the full shock-production catalog, ya feel me?
AEOP: Yea.
Shock G: It's something that companies wouldn't do because they'd have to share rights and overlap different artists, which they never or rarely do for a producers catalog. It has to be all produced for the same label before they'd compile it. Like "The RZA Hits" for instance. It was all Loud/Wutang records stuff so they actually let him do it. If Shockwaves does well from the site, I'll use those stats to try to get Rhino or Interscope to really do it, with a booklet and individual song, album, and artist credit & photos n all. We'll see. It also features Saafir, the Luniz, Bobby Brown, George Clinton, and Mystic. I did a good one for Prince too, but we forgot to put it on there. (ha ha)
AEOP: Are there other projects you're working on right now or featured on?
Shock G: On deck is Yukmouth & Tech N9NE. I'm tryin ta lace those good brothas soon with some special music. I'm waitin on a new computer to use the Reason software with, mine just crapped out on me. And in the can already is 2 productions on Ray Luvs next LP, 2 songs with a young hip-hop group outta Salt Lake City Utah called "Inersha", 2 productions & guest vocals on bay area underground legend Assassins' next CD, and so far a small bit of production on Mopremes next LP to name a few.
AEOP: Okay, here's a rumor killer. In the book Static - My Tupac Shakur Story, your old partner Chopmaster-J mentioned about some rumors that there were some hard feelings between you and some members of Tupac's Thug Life crew. Result of that you beated down somebody. This was said to have happened somewhere around 92-93, before I Get Around. What's your version of the story or is there any truth on this from your perspective?
Shock G: What? Yeah right, whatever! I never know what the hell Jimi's talkin about. It's probably total bullshit. There was no fight with me & Thuglife. Jimi is a hype-master and a con-artist who's only gift is his ability to promote and exaggerate things & events. The joy and goodtimes we all shared on the "I Get Around" set is proof & documentation of the beautiful vibe I continue to share with Pacs Thuglife family to this day. Jimi you should question your sources sir, and get your facts straight. And oh yeah, mind your business.
AEOP: Great to clear this up.
AEOP: You had rough time some years ago when you had problems with drugs etc. You want to talk about that time? What basically drove you to that situation?
Shock G: I was just being an artist, trying to do the research, trying to dig for new colors & textures, trying to reach for the answers & explore all the nooks n crannies in my mind, and got in alittle over my head, that's all. There was nothing I was running from or that "drove me" into it, just started gettin alittle too regular widdit. However, throughout life, each time I look up and realize I've exhausted something or I'm stuck somewhere, whether it be drugs or greasy fried foods or negative people in my life or whatever it is, I eventually pull myself together and walk away from it. As I did with video games, cocaine, ecstacy, strip clubs, meat & animal products, and many other addictive "traps". I even walked away from TV and haven't connected one yet at my latest place of 3 years so far. And as I will do with cigarettes eventually, but I'm still a studio and occasional nightclub puffer. (yuck!)
AEOP: What do you think about the new Tupac album Loyal To The Game and the way his music is being handled?
Shock G: I guess it's cool, I'm not real familiar with this last one yet. Assassin bumped it for me in his truck once in january. I've been bumpin alot of totally different stuff lately, like Ray Charles, (really old Ray like the 1947 & '48 Tampa Florida mostly instrumental blues recordings), Tech N9NEs' last 2 albums, "The Dead Can Dance" by Spiritchaser.. an amazing native american group, and alot of whoever I'm currently working with. I listen to the radio about 4 or 5 times a month too, and I roam from rap to classical to jazz to rock.
AEOP: How do you see the difference between that Tupac media potrayed, and the one who you knew personally?
Shock G: You must read my essay on Tupac at shockg.com, it's about that very subject. From the main "gate" page click on "You Ain't Knowin?" (one of the square links along the bottom), then go to "The Shakur Legacy".
AEOP: Do you have any favorite memories concerning Tupac that comes to your mind when you think about him?
Shock G: Yeah, my visual of him playing basketball with us on tour. He had the craziest looking jumper! It was similar to his jump at the end of the Humpty Dance, sideways. To see this you gotta find a copy of the DVD "Digital underground/Raw Uncut" a documusical of us behind the scenes and on stage. Go to scene number 3 or maybe 4, and watch Pacs' Humpty Dance from an old Big Daddy Kane tour. Monie Love (female London rapper) is dancin with Pac in the shot. That's one, but there's so many, it just depends on what mood and which Pac moment flashes or is brought up. I have many many favorites from all my homies, not just the deceased or famous ones. Pacs blend in with everybodys.
AEOP: Yeah.
Shock G: But most of my favorite Pac memories & moments are simple, mundane & subtle, and would probably only make sense to me. It's nothing dramatic or historical like you probably want to hear, all that kinda stuff already made the news. It's more like little quick visual fragments, like the way he joyously giggled after I told him "we're doing club MTV tomorrow". Or when he walked by me on stage and jokingly said "yeah, sure it's the wig!" after I got wig-hair caught in my mouth at Summer Jam ' 91 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in northern cali. Fun little audio-visual bites.
AEOP: It has been now eight years since Tupac passed, what are your thoughts now when you look back to DU days and so on? What's your topmost feeling?
Shock G: My topmost feelings are about things that happened this week, yesterday, and stuff I'm gonna do next week. I don't spend alot of time thinking about 5, 10, 20 or 30 years ago, I just don't. If I try to focus on those years you mentioned I usually have the same thought, "Wow, all that stuff happened to us? That's too much to think about" and snap myself back to my current dicision: "Should I get a diet coke or an orange juice with this sandwich? Should we park in front or in back of the building? Should I take this call or should I finish this email first? Is that her feet or my feet smellin' up the backseat like that?" Ya know, normal shit.
AEOP: What is your relationship with Thug Life/Outlaw members?
Shock G: Good. We have a mutual respect, distant family/cousins type relationship. I say distant cause I don't see them much these days. They don't come around the d.u. scene that much, but every now & then like at the last Sex n the Studio party I seen 'em. But I don't pop up at their functions so much either. I'm like 12 years older then them cats so we have different energies & focuses, different agendas. Like me & Pac, we had a 7 year age difference so even when we stood for the same things, our approaches were usually different.
AEOP: Uh-huh
Shock G: I mostly saw Pac when we were "at work"; studio, rehearsals, stage, release parties, videos, business meetings, etc. After that we always went our seperate ways, like most parties split afterwards into different age groups. The cats my age at the time (25 to 35) would go one way, the cats his age (15 to 25) would go the other. Then we'd all meet up the next day at the next function. I'll be 42 this august, so I guess I take things a little slower than they do and have different day to day habits n whatever. But I love them cats like blood family, the blood was Pac, and they can call on me anytime for anything and I'm there.
AEOP: Will we ever see you on any Thug Life/Outlaw releases? Mopreme is releasing his debut album in this year and I think you would fit perfectly in it. What do you think?
Shock G: I think I'm already on his album as a co-producer and as the Piano Man so far and hope to do more jah willing and if the opportunity presents itself. Also Mo & I've been doin some occassional collaboratin' at live shows and other events lately. We did the Sway & Techs' Wakeup Show together recently (syndicated radio), as well as a benifit show in NYC last summer for his dad Mutulus' defense, and a handful of digital underground live band shows around california.
AEOP: What's your plans for this year, future visions for your career? Anything you still want to archieve or maybe explore new ventures?
Shock G: Yeah, I wanna do some good stuff hopefully with Yukmouth this year & Tech N9NE jah willing. Those two cats are natural stars, by nature, not by association; you should see the chicks when they show up! I need a new whip too, I'd like to earn enuff money this year to trade in my hooptie which is 71 Alfa Romeo with an oil leak and no windows and get somethin halfway nice. So I can start rollin' around LA in style, I haven't done that yet in the 3 years since I've lived here. Maybe then I can get a date with Lucy Lui. She's the hottest to me!
AEOP: Thanks for your time Shock! We really appreciate this.
http://www.alleyezonpac.com/php/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=34
