Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh chop it up with Wu-Tang Clan founding member, beloved bar spitter, leadoff batter for the 'Triumph' grand slam, and one part of the Czarface triumvirate:
The man who Kweli credits with putting on "a masterclass of internal rhyme scheme."
Rebel INS, Rollie Fingers, Fifth Brother, Ayatollah, Manifesto, Charliehorse
We're talking about...
INSPECTAH DECK
What do Deck, Jasmin, and Kweli cover in this 1:48 interview? A LOT.
Wu-Tang -- from the beginning to the present.
The flood that ruined Deck's debut.
Friendships with RZA and Method Man.
Deck's famous bars on "Triumph" and "C.R.E.A.M."
The formation of the supergroup Czarface.
The power of good lyrics.
"Wu-Tang: An American Saga."
TIME STAMPS:
2:26 -- Deck speaks to people's decreased attention span regarding the lyrical side of hip hop and some of the departures from originality, innovation, and it's competitive edge that have taken place with the move to exploitation and commercialization of the culture. He also lists off some of the greats that impacted him the most coming up, tells why lyrics mattered more in his day, and Deck reflects on being influenced by all the neighboring cities he frequently traveled while growing up in the Park Hill projects of Staten Island, NY. He also speaks to how he had to roll through other areas with large groups because people would call them out on their Staten Island residency. They go on to discuss the instant notoriety their city gained when Wu-Tang Clan hit the scene, and how each member represented their neighborhoods individually.
14:44 -- Deck is asked about the 5 Percenter aspect of the Wu-Tang Clan, and what that philosophy means to him in these current-day conditions. Deck goes into Poppa Wu's influence on him, and how he was like a father figure he missed while growing up. Deck talks about taking the things that meant sense to him, and applying those to his own life. Jasmin goes on to ask Deck about losing his father at age 6, what he learned from his mother, as well as to expand on some of the struggles he witnessed her go through while growing up. Talib goes on to ask Deck for his views on the conversations being held today over defunding the police, and abolishing modern day prisons, as someone that has spent time in the system himself.
25:52 -- Deck talks about what it meant to him to be the first batter up on Wu-Tang's break-out single 'Protect Ya Neck', and having the honor of making that first impression of a group that changed the landscape of the culture. He tells how he would be the one to always have a fresh set of bars to go when he dropped into the studio, and Deck also responds to Method Man's quote stating "Inspectah Deck, he's like that dude that'll sit back and watch you play yourself and all that right? And see you sit there and know you lying; and he'll take you to court after that, cause he the Inspectah."
30:58 -- Jasmin asks Deck how close all the members of the Wu really were, and if there were clicks within the collective, which prompts Deck into expanding on some of the members he grew up in close proximity to. He then shares some valuable lessons learned from RZA about forward thinking, some jewels he received from GZA about writing that dramatically improved his pen game, and he notes U-God's unflinching honesty, teaching Deck how "not to f*ck up your money". He also reflects on Masta Killah and his choice words for the group, as the one elected to have his head chopped off in the Protect Ya Neck music video.
39:53 -- Talib thanks Deck for the verse that he dropped on one Wu's classic track 'C.R.E.A.M' and notes it's impact on him at that particular time in his life. Deck goes on to touch on the influence of that song on the culture and his headspace while writing his historic bars on that song, as well as Raekwon's specific role with his verse. He also explains how what could have been a straight-forward hustler's anthem actually turned into a conscious rap song. Jasmin asks Deck how he felt after C.R.E.A.M. put Wu-Tang onto global rockstar status. Deck responds with "that's when they started saying Wu-Tang fell off". They also discuss the longevity of Wu-Tang's hold on pop culture throughout the years.
52:09 -- Deck frames his thought process when he penned his classic verse on Wu-Tang's 'Triumph'. He outlines the day RZA was conducting the beat sometime around 4 in the morning, Deck sitting nearby with a pen and paper, and him reflecting on a verse he dropped earlier on a Tony Touch mixtape. Deck illustrates his and the other's reactions when they heard the finished product on full blast. They also discuss Deck and Lady Of Rage's verses for 2Pac's 'Got My Mind Made Up' not making the official release, why he heard they got taken off, and tells about time spent with the Death Row family around the recording session.
1:02:13 -- Deck speaks on his debut album 'Uncontrolled Substance', that was originally slated for release in 1995, but was indefinitely postponed after a flood destroyed over 100 beats in RZA's basement, including his original productions for the album. He talks about learning some hard lessons about the industry through that incident. Deck also gets into some of the work that he's done with producer/rapper Terminology, shared how they linked up, and talks about the Czarface collective of himself and 7L & Esoteric, consistently dropping material since 2013. They also discuss Deck's affinity for Spiderman and how they worked superhero themes into Czarface.
1:13:56 -- Talib asks Deck if he's ever experienced push-back from white fans for being publicly pro-black, and what he feels is the responsibility of white fans or white participants within hip hop culture. Deck goes on to illustrate his interpretation of what it means to be pro-black, as well as his laid back approach to navitaging negative energy on twitter feeds, and persistent trollers. Jasmin goes on to ask Deck how he felt about rapper Joey Bada$$ playing his part in 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga', and if he's had the chance to visit the set. Deck also gets into his friendship with Method Man, and how the two almost formed a group together before Wu-Tang came together.
1:23:33 -- The conversation circles back to Deck's debut release 'Uncontrolled Substance', and how he took a stab at doing much of the album's production himself due to RZA being tied up in other projects at the time. He talks about the struggles with all the things needed to learn about production, the legalities of releasing the record, as well as avoiding all the pitfalls of the industry. He also speaks to how important it is for anyone to learn how to utilize google searches, being by in large the best tool he found on his path to learning everything he needed to know. Deck also touches on wise money management and now being at point where he is completely content with his level of success.
1:36:35 -- Deck tells about his relationship with Ol' Dirty Bastard and taking on the role of the angel on Dirt's shoulder, constantly reminding him of the tremendous opportunity that he's given himself and to not blow it all. Talib brings up Deck's upcoming book 'From Pawn To King', being a manifesto of Deck's navigating the dirty waters of the record business, blindly "pushing across the board" as a pawn to eventually reaching kingship, finding peace within himself along the way. He also speaks on cancelling 'cancel culture' and taking up 'embracement culture', the type of energy he wants to put out into the world, and enjoying the anonymity of being widely respected but not often recognizable.
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