Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with rapper, writer, actor and member of the Wu-Tang Clan:
CAPPADONNA
Here's what we discussed with one of Staten Island's finest:
• Being born and raised in Brooklyn until the age of 7 and moving to Staten Island.
• The early days of Park Hill hip hop and Cap's love of graffiti and street fashion.
• Method Man crediting Cap for his induction into the Wu-Tang Clan.
• Catching the notice of RZA when Cap would take victories at local freestyle battles.
• Cap's character appearing in 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga'.
• Breaking down lyrics on 'Savage Life' about missing the holidays.
• Cap's favorite food while he was locked up.
• His appearance on Raekwon's 'Ice Cream' being his introduction to the game.
• The days of hustling designer belts with True Master being his supplier.
• He recites bars from 'Winter Warz' and shares his mindset when he wrote that iconic verse.
• The origin of the pro-black, spiritual and educational aspects of his music.
• How Cap felt when Ghostface revisited the title and concept of his song 'Run'.
• Where his affinity for classic R&B that's so apparent in his music comes from.
• Moving to Baltimore in 2003 and living out of his car while he worked as a cab driver.
• The history of his longtime kinship with fellow Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck.
• Cap's take on how The Wizard Of Oz links up with Five Percenter philosophy.
• Why he feels it's so important to be open in his songs about life's hardships.
• 'Baby Mommas' outlining the responsibilities of a man and woman raising a child.
• Why Cap feels it's his duty to showcase female emcees as much as possible.
• The early inspirations that contributed to Cap's impeccable fashion sense.
• Where his strong Reggae influence originates from.
• Cap's infatuation with how around the way girls would chew their bubble gum.
• Feeling honored to be close to his mother before her passing.
• The controversy surrounding the album cover art for 'Black Tarrzann'.
• Cap's name standing for "Consider All Poor People Acceptable Don't Oppress Nor Neglect Anyone".
• What Cap has coming down the line for his fans.
TIME STAMPS:
2:57 -- Cap speaks on his being born and raised in Brooklyn until the age of 7 and moving to Staten Island after he accidentally burned his parent's house down playing with matches. He gets into what it was like coming up in Park Hill during the early 80's, names off some of the most prominent emcees and DJs of the area during that time, talks about his early love of graffiti as well as street fashion and also speaks on his first stint in jail.
7:42 -- Cap is asked for his take on Method Man crediting him for his induction into the Wu-Tang Clan. He goes on to talk about the early days of the Wu members building together on their common interests and Cap catching the notice of RZA when he would attain frequent victories at their local freestyle battles. Cap is also asked how RZA impacted his life and how fully formed RZA's vision was of the potential of Wu-Tang Clan.
12:15 -- Cap is asked how accurate the scene was in 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' where Divine crossed paths with him in jail. They go on to discuss lyrics to 'Savage Life' illustrating his feelings on being locked up and away from his family on the holidays, Cap's take on what rehabilitation looks like, finding ways to enjoy Thanksgiving while on tour, some of the most beloved jail food he was able to indulge in and they debate if chitlins will eventually become a delicacy.
18:19 -- Cap gets into how his appearance on Raekwon's 'Ice Cream' was his introduction to the game. He goes on to talk about his job as a security guard for the Park Hill projects at the time of it's release, hustling designer belts at the same time and producer True Master being his supplier. They discuss the importance of owning a nice belt in the hood and True Master producing his first album 'The Pillage' even before he got the feature on 'Ice Cream'.
23:02 -- Talib brings up Cap's legendary bars on the song 'Winter Warz' and asks him if he can recite some of the verse for us. He goes on to share some of the mindset that went into penning those iconic rhymes after coming back from his first penitentiary bid and they also discuss the pro-blackness as well as the spiritual and educational aspects of his music and where it all originates from.
29:56 -- Cap speaks on the cinematic aspects of his song 'Run' and if Ghostface revisiting the concept for the song was something they discussed beforehand. Cap also gets into how he gained his affinity for classic R&B that's so apparent in his music and goes on to talk about the hardest part of his move to Baltimore in 2003 where ended up living out of his Range Rover, working as a cab driver, all after a falling out with his wife at home.
37:18 -- Cap talks about his longtime kinship with Inspectah Deck, stating they were 'brothers coming together for a cause'. He talks about them both doing time together at the Brooklyn House jail and Cap hustling clothes with Deck's older brother. Cap goes on to give his take on how the Five Percenters philosophy in knowledge of self links to the story of Wizard Of Oz and answers the question of if he ever saw himself as a successful emcee during those early days.
42:20 -- Cap is asked why he feels it's so important to be open in his songs about his life's trials and tribulations. He goes on to talk about his desire to inspire others to be real about their hardships, his song 'Baby Mommas' outlining the responsibilities of the man and woman raising a child together and they go on to debate if the term 'baby's momma' shouldn't be used anymore as well as Cap's views on the concept of marriage.
49:33 -- Cap talks about Wonda Woman aka Selima Young and Nakeeba Amaniyea being featured on his 2014 album 'Hook Off' as they discuss why he feels it's his duty to showcase female emcees as much as possible. They go on to discuss Cap's status as the Wu-Tang fashion guru. He talks about being inspired by his older brother's fashion sense as well as the Jamaicans he grew up around, Cap becoming a trend setter when he would spray paint his shoes and buy brands that nobody else in his neighborhood had worn before.
54:08 -- Cap explains where his strong Reggae influence originates from, Jasmin goes on to bring up Cap's song 'Material Wealth', asks him why he thinks women love bubble gum so much and Cap speaks on his infatuation with how the around the way girls would chew their bubble gum. Cap's song 'Mamma Can You Hear Me' is also discussed as he expresses how honored he was in having the opportunity to be close to her before her passing.
59:40 -- Cap is asked about the controversy over the album cover art for 'Black Tarrzann'. He talks about the symbolism of the image and his feelings for the project as a whole. They also discuss the acronym of Cap's name standing for "Consider All Poor People Acceptable Don't Oppress Nor Neglect Anyone", the embarrassing backronym of Talib's early crew 'The Hard Heads', Talib and Diamond D using Raekwon's essence and energy for their collab album 'Gotham', Cap speaks on his acting endeavors and he's also asked what he has coming down the line for his fans.
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