Hip-hoppers Prophets of da City in The 15- minute Interview. By MARIA MCCLOY
MM: You’ve been recording for seven years. Has it been difficult?
Shaheen: It’s been hard, but I’m glad we’ve been through it – all types of crazy-shit censorship – but we had to because we were the country’s only hip-hop group. We laid the foundations.
Ready D: Everything we achieved was self- taught – how you DJ, scratch, programme … And we had to learn about the industry. They taught us they couldn’t fuck us up. One label didn’t want to put money into marketing us, the usual …
Shaheen: Now it’s easy to work with kids and warn them about these things.
MM: You’ve played with major hip-hop artists like The Fugees, Afrika Bambataa and Ice T, how’d they react to POC’s sounds?
Shaheen: It was cool, they knew we weren’t on some clone type thing … It was nice to be in contact with artists from that side of the world who’d been through similar things to us.
MM: Even mainstream artists?
Shaheen: Well The Fugees told us about the bullshit they had to go through on their first album.
MM: A lot of the guys who want to do hip- hop say record companies all tell them to do kwaito?
Ready D: It’s the same shit all over.
Shaheen: Record companies are nothing but banks. At the end of the day they want to make money or their asses are on the line.
MM: You guys have had financial troubles?
Ramone: All the time, it’s still a struggle to walk around with a few cents in our pockets.
Ready D: Basically all the money we make is put back into the group; into hip-hop culture.
MM: So it’s not about money?
Shaheen: Yes it is! This is our career! It’s about survival. There are families involved [all except Shaheen have kids]. There comes a time when you have to make certain compromises.
MM: What compromises?
Shaheen: Going overseas is a compromise for me, I’d rather stay at home, I’m pan- Capetonian … I’m kidding, I think there’s a lot of work to be done here; help kids involved in hip-hop. Imagine being overseas while one of your family is sick. It’s whack.
Ramone: Then again staying here you miss out on everything.
MM: Who’d you like working with the most?
Ready D: Spearhead, Show and AG, and Afrika Baambaata … They were the most interested in what was happening, The Fugees as well, they were happy to exchange phone numbers. Some people you can’t even get next to … James Brown was nice, that was one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen … whoo his dancers!
Mark: All over they were surprised to see breakdancing from here.
MM: How big is breaking in SA?
Ready D: In Cape Town it’s massive, it’s the Mecca. There people have been involved in the hip-hop community – like us, Black Noise, The Anonymous Hip-Hop Crew – giving workshops on how to DJ, how to breakdance. But Jo’burg has some nice MCs.
MM: So why’re so few people getting signed, the only albums this year have been yours (Ghetto Code was released three weeks ago) and the Muthaload compilation.
Shaheen: Man, this industry is fucked up; they’re scared to invest. A local white rock group will get a deal and get promoted, but with black groups …
MM: Why do you think POC record sales have been so low.
Ready D: Because our records, songs and videos were banned.
MM: Ishmael, what were you guys trying to do on Ghetto Code?
Ishmael: We were trying to tone it all down n?
Ready D: He was trying to tone it all down!
Ishmael: I was joking.
Ready D: When we started recording this album in London there was a very passive vibe. We were homesick, that’s why there’s a lot of local slang – topics that reflect the mood we were in. It’s a lot slower and a lot easier to dance to.
MM: The album has an anti-drug, anti-gang message. What do you think of Pagad?
Ready D: It’s a very touchy subject, I can’t speak for everybody … all I can say is I support anybody who’s there for the freedom and liberation of people on every level: drugs, gangs, education, politics.
MM: What local music do you like?
Mark: I like Trompies, they’ve got a lekker different style.
Shaheen: Bheki Mseleku, Abdullah Ibrahim …
Ready D: Chiskop and Tsitibana are not that tired type of kwaito.
Shaheen: I heard some of the new Boomslang. Yo, nice stuff man! Some different stuff, experimental. People aren’t exposed to enough different types of music …