AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RAPPER
SKRAPZ- FORMERLY OF HALFBREED, THE NEW HOUSE OF KRAZEES, AND THE LEVEL JUMPERS…
HODGE- SUP SKRAPZ!!! I've followed your career since day 1 and have a ton of topics to cover with you. Lets start from the beginning and work our way to your current musical happenings.
SKRAPZ- Alright cool.
HODGE- Many years ago I received and extremely rare demo tape of The 2 KRAZIE DEVIL'S. The two members were yourself and BLAZE AKA COLTON GRUNDY. Why wasn't this album ever officially released? Is it true that someone from BEDLAM went behind your back and sold those Demo's online?
SKRAPZ- Well yes, actually it is true. Someone did go behind my back and jack my stuff. It was actually lended to him as a personal thing. That's kind of whack. I haven't done that to anybody in my life.
The reason we never released it is because we weren't 100% satisfied with the material. We didn't have any Label backing. We really didn't have any money to promote it ourselves. So we just kinda sat on it for a while. Which was probably a good thing because it would have been crazy to try to uphold a release that was never really supposed to be released at all.
HODGE- Now, many fans of the Detroit Underground have assumed that TWIZTID and yourself never got along at all. Weren't you all cool at one point? I mean, they did appear on the last track of your 2 KRAZIE DEVIL'S album.
SKRAPZ- Yeah man, we were all cool. It was a really widespread crew back in those days of about late 93 till about 97. We were all down. You know just like any big group of friends, certain people would cliq up more than other people. It was not like we never got along. I would hang over at Jamie and Paul's crib all the time. All the time. We would always stay connected. We would always dig up on music. Those things just change over time man.
HODGE- I've never been able to track down a copy, but I've heard about this rare album released by a group called THE DEMIGODZ. Was this group made up of you and former LEVEL JUMPERS member FREEZE aka DIALTONE? Was anything ever officially released by THE DEMIGODZ?
SKRAPZ- Yeah. The DEMIGODZ were a group. I wasn't in it. I did production for it. Back in the day the reason that THE R.O.C. and myself became so close knit was due to the fact that we were producing music. He was pretty much the main producer for the HOUSE OF KRAZEES. I took to production and started to buy equipment of my own to get into the production value of things without having to rely on him. I just had a stack of beats and things of that nature and I ran into DIALTONE(Freeze) way back then on the Westside. He mentioned that when he had some time out and wanted to hook things up. I said "hey dude I got some extra beats". I got some time I can put into you. He and my brother(SIEZURE) ended up forming a lil group called DEMIGODZ. It was recorded in the basement and actually sold quite a few copies. I lent some guest vocals on a couple of tracks. It was never something that was taken seriously. We never tried to get it Label backing or anything like that.
HODGE- Way back in the day you had a guest appearance on LAVEL & ABK's old group album KRAZY KLAN "Developmental". You also appeared on ABK aka JAYMO's first solo album "Native Funk". Do you ever keep in touch with LAVEL or ABK?
SKRAPZ- Yeah. I'm actually in pretty close contact with LAVEL(MR.HEART). We're at the bar drinking on a weekly basis. And ABK…I'm not really to up on his new material, but I've ran into him a couple of times over the past year or so. It's deffinetely a positive click when we see one another. But yeah man, LAVEL and I, we get down. I'm actually working on a track for his new album.
HODGE- Back in 1999 you and THE R.O.C. reformed THE HOUSE OF KRAZEES. That album was an instant classic man! However, some were not very thrilled with the 2nd coming of the H.O.K.. I can remember meeting TWIZTID after a show in Philly back in 98 or 99. As a kid was getting his H.O.K. cds signed, he was told by TWIZTID to not support that new H.O.K. shit. I also remember hearing that their was some kind of weird altercation with the new H.O.K. and TWIZTID at an early JCW wrestling event. Has that old tension died down yet?
SKRAPZ- As far as an altercation between MYSELF, THE R.O.C. and THEM at whatever event…nah that never went down. Their was never any altercation between us two groups.
As far as them not being thrilled with the 2nd coming of the H.O.K.. Ya know it was something where I was offered the opportunity to do it and of course I did it. I had the opportunity right in front of me. I had been down with all those guys for so long and my man (THE R.O.C.), who was my best friend out of the group needed a hand. So I stepped in for him when he needed. They asked me to be in HOUSE OF KRAZEES. Their were all these contractual obligations that had to be met. Their was a lot of merchandise left behind during the split. Walt the guy who ran their label over there needed a way to get rid of a lot of things that they had. THE R.O.C. had all these contractual obligations with the name HOUSE OF KRAZEES. So that's what we did. I mean obviously you saw how long it lasted. One short 8 song cd ya know. We did what we did and that was that man. But their was never an altercation really. Nothing physical, nothing other than a couple of words. I'm sure their were a lot of feelings about everything, but that's to be expected ya know.
HODGE- What was it like doing all those shows with ESHAM/NATAS in the late 90's? Did they ever approach you guys about doing a collab?
SKRAPZ- It was Dope. ESHAM was getting some of his biggest promotion with the Gothom Overcore merger. We were being distributed by Overture music at the time. It was just an opportunity to get out man. It was a good opportunity. We had a good time. We did quite a few shows and rocked that shit.
As far as doing a collab, no I mean behind the scenes backstage at venues we had hours and hours to chill and all sit around and talk about this and that. But when we got home everything unfolded. Times were changing. The HOUSE OF KRAZEES thing was like to short. We didn't know if we wanted to be HOUSE OF KRAZEES anymore. We kinda sat on ideas like "yo ESHAM and them want us on a track but will they still want us if we don't wanna be H.O.K. anymore"? Things like that man. Plus NATAS was working on their new shit. Their probably was a possibility of a collab, whether we be on their piece or them on our piece. But nothing ever came of it so it doesn't really matter.
HODGE- Alright, now lets talk about HALFBREED! This is probably the group that you're most known for. HALFBREED (THE R.O.C. & SKRAPZ) was cutting edge for it's time! The first full length album "KontamiNation" was flawless. It's easily one of the best Horrorcore albums ever put out. At this point it must've seemed like everything in your career was finally falling into place. You had big interviews in magazines like MURDER DOG, you had Merchandise galore, and a fast growing fanbase. However, I've read numerous interviews in which you claim that the wicked shit just wasn't the direction you wanted to go. Why did you agree to make those wicked albums in the first place? Did your age at the time have anything to do with it?
SKRAPZ- That's a good question. As far as the age things goes, I'm 27 now. I'm a grown man and I've come along way. As far as agreeing to make those albums, I mean that's what I was into. I was down to make that shit. Any of these cats out here that consider themselves horrorcore or the wickedshit, they're all rap/hip hop fans at heart. Thiers only so many of the wicked pioneers that you can take in. Of course theirs ESHAM. But you can't say that you've listened to only ESHAM. You know you've got your RAAKIM's and your PUBLIC ENEMY's and all these people that I came up on ya know. I couldn't limit myself to rapping only the wicked shit. If anything, the wicked shit is more of a direct influence of the area I'm coming from. Basically if you were a rapper here, that's kinda all you did. With many, it's changed and expanded. Especially with the white cats, you were limited to what you were supposed to rap about around here.
But HALFBREED man…HALFBREED was probably the best horrocore that could've been horrocore. It was more to me like Hardcore street rap with a lil bit of sick shit in there. R.O.C.'s beats were just incredible! Our lyrical content was just unbelievable at that time. We were just trying to bring it! That's what we were all about. And we did bring it on the mic ya know. And that's how it happened. What we picked up along the years in this Detroit style game, it just connected and it was hard as hell.
People ask "well, why'd you turn your back on the wicked shit, or why'd you even do it in the first place". I didn't look at it like "Yeah, I'm MR. WICKEDSHIT". I left it. You kinda gotta do what you feel ya know. It just came to a point where I wasn't feelin that.
HODGE- Tell me this, was "KontamiNation" released twice? I got my copy from Hot Hits on the day of it's release. Later, I heard rumors that the version of "KontamiNation" I received from Hot Hits was slightly different than the version advertised in Murder Dog Magazine. What's the deal?
SKRAPZ- Yeah, their was a couple different versions. KontamiNation was something that we worked on and put our all into. We ended up putting it out Nationally through a record Label named Siccmade(made famous by BROTHA LYNCH HUNG), who I don't even know if their still around. At the time they made the offer to pick up that release on a 1 release basis. And we hyped it. Man, we hyped that album forever. We hyped it for a year. We recorded it all independently and we wanted it out there. KontamiNation was worked on even before our first EP "Serial Killaz" was recorded. We put a lot of work into that album. We told our fans it would be a lil longer till the album was released because we wanted to release it big. We had an instore planned at Hot Hits. We needed something to give to the fans at our instore. So we pressed up a short run on our own for the local area out here. We needed a short run to bring to the instores that we already had set up when the product wasn't in our hand. That's kinda the story of how a couple alternate versions came about. I'll tell ya something else that's funny that goes along with that. I have yet to this day seen a Siccmade version. I know their out there. I've pulled it up online. I've never received a copy though. We got played around a lot in those days man. We didn't have the knowledge to do what it was we were trying to do, even though we tried our hardest ya know.
HODGE- On Halloween of 2000 I purchased the HALFBREED EP "Rage of the Plague". On the song "Summons" theirs a verse that goes-
"Heard a knock at the door…grab my pistol to see who is it…open the door…it's HOUSE OF KRAZEES paying a lil visit…even SLEEP WALKERZ, they came up outta they grave…HOME SWEET HOME, they say…I hate Halloween, so I pray…".
Alright, can you shed some light to the meaning of this verse? I mean, is it a subtle way of paying homage, or maybe even a peace offering to the Original H.O.K.? Also, now that I've briefly mentioned the name, can you let the fans in on who the SLEEP WALKERZ were?
SKRAPZ- That's Y.U.G. on that verse. We were in the studio vibin out to that. Their was always a Halloween connection there with the whole HOUSE OF KRAZEES thing. Plus THE R.O.C.'s Birthday is on Halloween, and you know he reps that forever. Y.U.G. just came to us with the verse and read it to us and we were just like, "man run with it". Since the song was "SUMMONZ", he wanted to speak about like bringing the original HOUSE OF KRAZEES back from the dead and bringin em out. And with SLEEPWALKERZ, SLEEPWALKERZ was actually the album that THE 2 KRAZIE DEVIL'S was supposed to be followed up by. That was when me and BLAZE decided that we were actually gonna work on this album and put it out. We decided to call it SLEEPWALKERZ and we opened up for HOUSE OF KRAZEES and whatnot back in the day. But again that was never released and that material hasn't been found floating around on the internet. But yeah, that's what SLEEPWALKERZ is and that's why he said it. It was definitely not a diss track. Not at all man. Ya know, it was a Halloween album and the Y.U.G…I don't know man sometimes he just goes off on some weird shit man. It wasn't meant as a diss to anyone though.
HODGE- Not long after the release of "The Rage of the Plague", you guys announced that you were abandoning the group HALFBREED and forming a new group called THE LEVEL JUMPERS…with an entirely new direction in mind. Who's idea was it to switch to a more purified hip hop direction?
SKRAPZ- I think it was pretty much a group decision. Their really wasn't much going on with the label(VIRUS INDEPENDENT). THE R.O.C. and I had established VIRUS back in the day. Around that time I felt that I was pretty much finished with the whole HALFBREED thing. I'd grown tired of it. I wasn't interested. I basically felt that I didn't wanna go out there and represent something that I wasn't feeling. Nobody wants that. Nobody wants to uphold an image that their not interested in anymore. Theirs a time when you've gotta crack your own shell ya know. I sat down and told everyone look man I'm interested in working on a solo piece. I wanna bring out some of the stuff I've listened to and been inspired by over the years. I wanna represent what I've been through in my personal life over the years. I felt like I was in character somewhat. Not visually or anything like that. I was just letting out too much aggression in music. I didn't feel that it needed to be that way. I wanna talk to people that wanna listen to me. I don't wanna be angry and have all this anger and rage. What's wrong me having an all good vibe. I mean, you couldn't play HALFBREED's music at like a party. They just wouldn't feel it. I wanted to make something that was in my element. I'm not saying I formed LEVEL JUMPERS. But I spoke out and said how I felt and then everyone else was kinda like "yeah man, lets get down with some hip hop". When we first did it, their was no intensions. I was trying to put together a solo at the time. We just found time to do it and to record it. It was more of a fun time. Just like "yeah lets just battle each other on the mic for a verse". A lot of the "RED PYRAMID" material was actually recorded before "Simply Complex". That's kinda how it all came together I guess.
HODGE- About a year after the LEVEL JUMPERS debut album, you guys released "The Red Pyramid". I think it was around this time that many fans started to realize the lyrical skills of THE LEVEL JUMPERS. It might not have been the wickedshit they were used to, but it was deep and often enlightening, and this was becoming a welcomed substitute for many fans who grew up listening to the horrorcore genre. How did it make you feel to see reviews from the once haters turned followers by the time the 2nd album dropped?
SKRAPZ- Since the first LEVEL JUMPERS cd dropped I cannot tell you how many people to this day have came to me and said that THE LEVEL JUMPERS opened me up to hip hop. They opened me up to rappers like BLACKSTAR, TALIB KWALI, COMMON, and people like that. Some of the greatest hip hop available. A lot of these Horrorcore cats had grown with us and reached out to us overtime and thanked us for making LEVEL JUMPERS. They said that it got them into more hip hop and I'm glad. I'm glad that people got down with stuff like that. The "Red Pyramid" was a fun skillful album. We did our thing. Around the time that that dropped it was like a heavy breather to know that we could sound like this and that people could get down with what we were doing. It came to a point where I don't care. Not, I don't care about my music, but I don't care if they get it or not because I'm gonna do it anyway. Hopefully they get it. And they got it man. They started to feel it man. I think we opened up a lot of people's mind that had followed at one point in time and did a full 360 to something else.
HODGE- After the "Red Pyramid" dropped it seemed like all 4 members of the group had different musical agendas taking form. Y.U.G. was almost nowhere to be found on the 2nd album. Yourself, The R.O.C., and FReeze were all rumored to be working on solo projects. With all these different projects going on with each individual member, were their ever even talks of a third LEVEL JUMPERS cd? Or was it just a general consensus that the group would naturally dissolve on good terms?
SKRAPZ- It was definitely going in different directions. Y.U.G. was never really a founding member of LEVEL JUMPERS. We kinda recruited him. He had some interest in it. He was kinda in and out. The foundation really came down to myself and FReeze representing LEVEL JUMPERS. THE R.O.C. representing LEVEL JUMPERS on the production tip and stepping in when he felt it necessary. The group still hasn't dissolved as far as I'm concerned. We're in a period of absence ya know. I just dropped my full length solo. DIAL, that kid is like forever working on his shit. It doesn't matter if it's on a fisher price record player in the basement. He's just an unusual cat man. He'll just make music at all costs. He's working with so many artists. I think the difference is that I take my music serious. That's my personality. He doesn't care how he sounds as long as he's doing it. Where as I don't care if I'm doing it, but if I'm doing it it's with the intensions of dropping an album. And that's kinda how it went. And THE R.O.C. is just always busy man. He's just kinda like "look if you holla at me I'm there". I was just over his house as a matter of fact. If I need anything he'll come through for me.
HODGE- A few years back on Halloween a new HALFBREED album was released! News of this album shocked fans of your older work. The album titled "The End" was basically a compilation of rare songs, hit songs, and unreleased songs. Were you pleased to see so many old HALFBREED fans anxious to buy the new cd? Did the support of this album ever wanna make you return to your old days of the wicked shit?
SKRAPZ- Yeah I was surprised that so many people were down to pick it up considering that it's like a greatest hits with a couple new tracks. Which by the way, we paved the way for that shit man. A lot of cats are doing that now. We thought that it was kinda in our best interest to combine our old HALFBREED catalog since we weren't really pushing it anymore. We figured that since nobody would really be into carrying titles anymore for a group that was no longer in existence we decided to like make one title with the songs that were always in rotation, available to the listeners. So we combined a bunch of tracks from all our records. And we did it. We rocked it. And people took to it very well man. As far as me wanting to return to the wicked shit…I have my days man. I really do. But then I always think nah man I can't think this way. Overall I'm outweighed. I'll always try to release something more decent and well thought.
HODGE- Nowadays, your music represents a purified form of hip hop. But what if a horrorcore group that you've collabed with in your past wants to link up with you again for a new collab? Like Bedlam for example. You did a track with them back in the day called "Murder Parade". That track was blazin! What if PROZAK(formerly of BEDLAM) came to you and asked you to do a track with him on an upcoming PROJECT DEADMAN album or something? Would you consider it?
SKRAPZ- Yeah. I haven't heard the new PROJECT DEADMAN stuff. I've heard the hype for it on the internet. I guess people are taking to it well. And yeah PROZAK, as far as I'm concerned is an MC. He's got a clean crisp delivery. But as far as BEDLAM. NO. The one cat from BEDLAM is a punk ass dude. He's a backstabbing cat.
It doesn't matter what you do. I feel that if someone's coming at me in this stage of my career and is familiar with my current material…if they want me to do a track, they want me to do a track based on what I'm doing with my music today. They're not gonna ask me like "yo, can you do some shit like "Serial Killaz" style". They're not gonna come at me like that.
HODGE- Alright lets fast forward things a bit to your new solo album "The 12 Step Program". Now, I buy a lot of cds. "The 12 Step Program" is without a doubt one of the best hip hop albums to come along in a years! It reminded me a lot of the golden era of hip hop. Reminiscent of rappers like- Del, Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Lords of the Underground, Funk Doobiest, and Souls of Mischief. How long did it take you to record this masterpiece?
SKRAPZ- Fuckin forever dude! But you know what, everything has it's time and place and when it was ready to be released, it came out. Like I said, whereas DIALTONE makes his music his way and I make mine my way. I put it all into that man. All into that. I did the whole production on every single track. I kinda stepped outta the scene. I kinda turned away from music and what was going on publicly and just thought "I need to work on my new shit". I was thinking. Just pulling samples out the woodwork. Hitting up all the records. Just writing my ass off. Trying to release all the emotions that was like, "hey this is my first solo ever". I've been doing music commercially since like 98, you know having shit in stores and all. A lot of my peers had solo albums, and I don't. So I just decided that I'm gonna bring it.
You nailed it on the nose. I really wanted to capture that 93-94 era of hip hop. You know, that real TRIBE CALLED QUEST vibe, and that COMMON vibe. The cats that was bringing it at the turning point where stuff was in a crossover period. Where you were either hitting mainstream or you were underground. It was all the same. TRIBE CALLED QUEST had radio hits and mtv videos but their best material never even made it anywhere that far. Yeah man, I'm glad you spoke on that. I think rap took a turn for the worst around the end of the BIGGIE/TUPAC era. When the MASTER P's, THREE 6 MAFIA, C-MURDER and people like that started coming up the whole rap sound changed. But what you get from me is what I'm involved with and what I dig. But yeah, theirs so much of that crap out there. So much garbage.
HODGE- On the track "To My Enemies" you linked back up with longtime partner in rhyme THE R.O.C. . It was great hearing you two kick it on a track again! Now, I know THE R.O.C. has been busier than ever lately with all his work with Psychopathic Records artists, S.W.K., and his solo album. Do you think that you two will one day come together again for another album?
SKRAPZ- I wouldn't say no. Anything is possible. I don't think it's really in our interest right now. He's got me checking out his solo shit and he just wrapped it up. It is unbelievable. He worked with me closely on my solo material. I think theirs a mutual respect for what we both have to offer. Our friendship is Solid. We may not talk to each other every week, but when we do talk we know that we're talking to each other and we always will be really really close. And that's what it comes down to. We were actually talking lately about maybe doing some shows together. Which I think is real cool. Whether we work on an album together or not, I think he'll always be on my shit and I'll always be on his shit. That's what I'm all about right now.
HODGE- You also collabed with former LEVEL JUMPERS partner FREEZE aka DIALTONE on the track "SomeDayz". I understand that he has a new solo album out now called "4 Track Mind". Do you make any guest appearances on his album?
SKRAPZ- No, I don't make any appearances on "A 4 Track Mind". "A 4 Track Mind" is just that. It's just DIALTONE with a 4 Track kids tape recorder sitting in the basement bangin out new stuff through a record player and an MP3. And that's what's going on. The shittiest sound quality ever, lol. But nah, I didn't make an appearance.
HODGE- Back to your new album "The 12 Step Program". I'm so impressed with this album I think that anyone who hears it will consider you Detroit's best kept secret. Are their any talks of you getting any major distribution for the album? The unsuspecting hip hop world needs to hear this shit!
SKRAPZ- I'm seeking National Distribution right now, but rationally the way it still works…sorry to bust your bubble but it's not gonna be National.
HODGE- I have a few random questions for ya man. First, what happened to that HYSTERIA girl you guys collabed with on the song "Angelz Night Anthem"? I know THE R.O.C. worked with her heavily on her albums. Second, Halfbreed was featured on the nationally released compilation album "Race Riot" in 2000. Was that track originally recorded for the "KontamiNation" cd? And lastly, does anybody ever hear from Detroit artists- Strict Nine, Dago, or Dead Mike these days?
SKRAPZ- I have no clue about her these days man. I think the last time I heard from her was in late 2002 or something. As for that song, nah it was never recorded for "KontamiNation". We used to record a bunch of random HALFBREED tracks to have on hand for compilations and whatnot. As for those Detroit cats, no I haven't heard anything on them since around the time DAGO dropped his "Testamonia" EP.
HODGE- Alright, I like to wrap up some interviews with a little word association game. I'll throw out a name and you just say the first thing that comes to mind. Ready-
CAGE- Mad Sick!
SOULS OF MISCHIEF- Timeless music.
MIKE E. CLARK- Break-Beat Master.
MC BREED- Washed up.
KING GORDY- Crazy braided horns.
SLUM VILLAGE- I miss J.D.. They'll never be the same without him.
HELLS KITCHEN- I have no clue what's up with them. It's been a while since I've heard anything.
THE R.O.C.- MASTERMIND.
PARADIME- Drunk white dude. Dope MC.
ESHAM- The inventor. Just look at "Boomin Words From Hell", and "Judgement Day". Way ahead of his time.
HODGE- Well, that about does it man. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to conduct this interview with me. It surprises me how you're always able to beat the odds and continue to come out with your own innovative style of music. Keep it up homie.
SKRAPZ- Thanks to all who still support me! Thanks to you HODGE for staying up on my career all these years and brining this interview to me. It's a great opportunity to enlighten my fans on my musical status and all that's going on with me. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this. This solo album is just the beginning. I won't stop making the music I love.
HODGE* For all those interested in learning more about SKRAPZ or are interested in purchasing his new album "The 12 Step Program" just head over to www.skrapz.com or www.geneticsoil.com
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