waterproof
New member
POETESS: When you went to other parts of the country how receptive was the audience?
MIXMASTER SPADE: We use to go up to Oakland. Really, we was mostly West Coast and a little bit of the East Coast accepted us. I got far as Cleveland back that way. I hear my songs on the radio and I hear some of the commercials for my songs. So I know they was playing us back then. We used to tour Texas all the time. Back and forth, up north and Arizona. All just the West Coast really back in those days.
POETESS: You recently did a song with RBX and Soopa Fly and Suga Free…Dog House in Your Mouth is that true?
MIXMASTER SPADE: Yeah, with Snoop…
POETESS: How’s that working with Snoop? You being a pioneer and him being of another generation of rap?
MIXMASTER SPADE: That was the easiest songs I ever did in my life. I just walked in there and he said “Man, you to give me some of that old school. I want some of the old flavor some old school.” He said, “Man just say anything”. I said “Good evening, Doggpound”. He was like, “Yeah that’s it!” All he want to do is hear that (singing). I said “Hold on, man. I can do something better. I can write something right quick”. “Naw naw, just do that” and Snoop wouldn’t give me a chance. He likes bringing new songs with old flavor, old lyrics. Most of his songs gotta a lot of my hooks in them. Do you want to go to the liquor….Do you wanna ride in my 6-4. You know all them kind of hooks. He’s an old school lover with the new school so that’s how he wanted it, so I gave it to him.
POETESS: What do you feel the state of West Coast rap is now?
MIXMASTER SPADE: We still holding our own. We need some more unity out here. I don’t see too much unity. Like in New York they support each other more. Out here is a little space. We can’t really reach out and touch each other and collaborate and do things like them dudes back East. Every time you look around they doing something. Like up in the Bay, everybody’s on everybody’s record. Down here in LA they all look scattered.
Just Say No
POETESS: Why do you think there’s a lack of unity on the West Coast? Geographically cause we’re spread out? Everybody in their own cliques?
MIXMASTER SPADE: Mostly everybody in they own cliques. You can say geographically. We had that mentality. We grew up in cliques anyway. Like we got crips and bloods, neighborhoods and sets so we like that’s your set that’s my set. We already grew up like that out here. Aint’ to much clicking clicking with other cliques.
POETESS: What do you feel your contribution is to rap?
MIXMASTER SPADE: I gave West Coast a big head start. When I came out I was doing parties doing my thing. People was like what’s that? What’s he doing? What are you doing to the record? I was DJing a party in Watts. I didn’t want to do the party in Watts. I’m kinda like I don’t know about going over there. They be shooting and gangbanging over there. I went over there anyway. I told my buddy to bring my records later and he didn’t bring my records so I had a few records, new ones. I had to make them longer than what they really were. I had to mix so I was in the kitchen. Everybody else was in the other room partying. “So Rough So Tough” which happen to be one of my cut records. I sat there running out of stuff to play. It’s time for me to start mixing. I don’t have too much more to play. I put my head down and the kitchen was empty. I put my head down start mixing got into it cutting and scratching I just happened to look up and the whole kitchen was full of people all over me. One of the dudes was like “aww go head homie get down it’s cool do that some more.” He was like do that some more. After that Mixmaster Spade was born where I was like I’m here. Like all my homeboys in the hood and everywhere was like where you DJing at? They didn’t really have no cars then. They was walking to my parties. They would walk I’m talking about miles.
POETESS: King T Toddy Tee…Were you one of the first people King T worked with?
MIXMASTER SPADE: Me and Toddy Tee had a hit record “Just Say No” out and King T had a record out a little bit after that on the radio it was called “Payback’s A Mutha” with DJ Pooh and my boy Scotty D was with them but he was also with me. He was like Spade man won’t you do a song with my other little partners. King T and Pooh wanted to hook up with me. So Pooh and King T came to my house, instantly much love. I love all rappers. We all got together and went in there and done “You Better Bring Your Gun” in one day. It came out and that’s how me and King T became tight and Pooh. The next thing you now that’s my clique, me, King T, Pooh and Toddy Tee but Todd really wasn’t clicking so much. They was doing they own. I was doing my own. I ask Tila and nem to help me do The Genius is Back cause he owed me. I said man just do an intro for me. He started it off for me and I took the rest. Pooh did the beat along with Dr. Dre. We had DJ Var on there… RIP.
POETESS: Do you feel West Coast rap started to take a turn when Eazy E and NWA came out?
MIXMASTER SPADE: It took a big turn when they came out. They took gangsta to the mainstream from out of the neighborhoods. They put it on the big line. We had it on the county and the state line like just LA to Texas line. When NWA came out with Jerry Heller and made them major boys put them up on the videos and the nationwide distribution and all that, they took off instantly. That’s the advantage they had. And of course, they had Dr. Dre.
POETESS: What are you doing now? Are you still in music?
MIXMASTER SPADE: I’m just dibbling and dabbling. If you call me I’ll come. I’m really trying to do a little project just a collaboration with a lot of artists. I’m trying to call it the Return of the Compton Godfather featuring myself and every other artists and a lot of top artists I know that owe me favor
