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EXCLUSIVE How2Rap Interview - Author Sid Thomas
"Diamonds in the Raw will take you on a trip through Washington DC's inner-city streets in search of talented musicians struggling to survive in a game in which the odds are stacked against them."
Your new book Diamonds In The Raw talks about DC Hip Hop Movement. Can you tell us a little about DC Hip Hop and the spark that inspired Diamonds In The Raw? / Have you always been a fan of Hip Hop Music?
I've always been into music and I've been into Hip-Hop since Rappers Delight dropped. In those days, like most young people in DC, I was more into Go-Go than anything else. I grew up in the Riggs Park section of DC and Go-Go is all we were thinking about. Then this dude named Zay (his real name was Xavier Carey) moved to our neighborhood from Maryland Avenue. He was into Hip-Hop and he was really talented. Zay could rap, breakdance, DJ, and he could even do some pretty complex grafitti pieces. Zay helped DJ Frank Ski (from WDCU) manage this club downtown called "Da Krib". Most of the people we hung with lived on Chillum Place (NE) and we would be at "Da Krib" every weekend because Zay used to get us in for free.
As most people know, rap music never exploded in DC like it did in other parts of the country. But through the years I still followed Hip-Hop, locally and nationally. I've always been interested in photography. In 2004 my wife bought me a new digital video camera and I started recording local Go-Go and Hip-Hop artists. This was about the time YouTube was becoming popular. I started gravitating
more to the rappers because they were easier to deal with. The problem with the Go-Go industry in DC is that it's basically being run the same way it was 20 years ago. But the Hip-Hop community embraced the new technology immediately. The rapppers understood that YouTube was giving them free publicity. I always wanted to write a book and it occurred to me to write it about the DMV Hip-Hop scene. I started interviewing various artists to see if a book was possible and everything came together pretty quickly.
How do you feel about the state of Hip Hop in its entireity as well as in the DMV?
Hip-Hop is in a good place right now. I think Hip-Hop fans over-react every time a new movement comes along. When NWA and Gangsta rap came out a lot of people thought it was bad for Hip-Hop. When Puffy and the shiny-suit era was popular people thought it was bad for "real" Hip-Hop. When the South blew up you had NYC people talking about "Hip-Hop is dead". Then Soldja Boy came along and he got a lot of criticism because he was so successful so fast. I've noticed it happens every so often. Remember everyone was mad at Vanilla Ice? But the funny thing is Vanilla Ice had an incredible amount of support in the Black community when he first came out. A lot of people probably won't believe that because he's a punchline now, but if you look at those old MTV Raps shows you'll see Ed Lover and Fab 5 Freddy fawning all over him.
I also think DMV Hip-Hop is in a good place. Before Wale released his CD many people speculated that his project would be essential to the success of the entire region, but that theory turned out to be inaccurate. Wale has generated a lot of attention towards the DMV and he should get credit for it - but his album wasn't a smash and other DMV rappers haven't missed a beat. The group Likeblood is about to release their second CD, and solo rappers Whitefolkz and Don Juan have recently signed major label deals.
Speaking of the DMV, I'm a artist who shouts out DMV a lot in my rhymes. I'm from Frederick, Maryland A lot of the times when I'm shouting DMV I'm talking about the whole DC, Maryland, VA. From Richmond to Ocean City and everywhere in between. But I even heard some rappers, (No Name, No Blame) or artist take DMV as strictly DC and Maybe most of PG (PG County is part of Maryland for those who dont know), how do you feel about the whole Rep DMV thing?
This is a really touchy topic for some people, LOL! I definitely think Frederick should be included in the DMV region. Also, the Hagerstown/Martinsburg/Winchester area should be a part of it. Go-Go bands and DC DJ's have performed in that area for at least the last 20 years. I think all of Northern Virginia above Richmond is included. We have some serious artists in Nova. That whole Dyfor organization out of Fredericksburg is making major moves. There is a question if Richmond is part of the DMV. But I don't know if those artists consider themselves to be part of the DMV. I think a lot of those rappers consider themselves to be a part of the Virginia Beach/Newport News/Tidewater area. And you can't blame them because Timberland, Missy, The Neptunes, Teddy Riley, etc. have come from there.
The other big question is if Baltimore is part of the DMV, and there doesn't seem to be any definitive answer. I've noticed that both Judah (www.forthedmvonly.com) and DJ Heat (www.dcmumbosauce.com) include B-More artists in their blogs. Dre "All Day In The Paint", a top local promoter, occasionally does shows in Baltimore and he also has rappers like Bossman and Mullyman on his shows in the DC area. Wordsmith and Jade Fox are a couple of other B-More rappers who have performed in DC. I actually considered doing a chapter in my book about Charm City rappers.
You also write for Ozone Mag (Shots out to JB) for the DC indie grind section. Is that something you always wanted to do or just something you fell into?
Actually, I kind of fell into it. I've always been an avid reader of all Hip-Hop periodicals and I noticed DC wasn't getting represented in the Rapquest section (of Ozone). I contacted JB, sent her a sample of my writing, and she stamped me. In 2010 I'm going to do some other things with Ozone (which will be announced later this year).
You also have Real News Mag tell us some things about how that came about?
I was working with a few online magazines and I didn't like the direction where they were going. One website in particular, I brought them several stories and didn't get credit for it. So I decided to do my own thing. My website is available to anyone who wants to tell their story and I always give them proper credit.
Do you have any other books out or is Diamonds In The Raw your first publication?
Diamonds is the first book I've published, but I've had numerous articles published nationally and locally. I am constantly working on new projects. I have a few book ideas in the works. Two of the projects involve the music industry but the other one is going to be about religion.
For anyone who wants to reach you or to buy the book where can they look?
My e-mail address is: dcsupersid@aol.com
Diamonds In The Raw is available at the following locations:
Busboys And Poets (14 & V Streets, NW)
Borders Bookstore (The Blvd. at the Capital Center - Largo, MD)
The Howard University Bookstore (2225 Georgia Avenue, NW)
The Literary Joint Bookstore (Forestville Mall)
Shooters Sports (6491 Marlboro Pike, District Heights, MD)
(Interview by: Jamaal West)
Diamonds In The Raw
By Sidney Thomas
Diamonds In The Raw is available at
Busboys And Poets (14 & V Streets, NW)
Borders Bookstore (The Blvd. at the Capital Center - Largo, MD)
The Howard University Bookstore (2225 Georgia Avenue, NW)
The Literary Joint Bookstore (Forestville Mall)
Shooters Sports (6491 Marlboro Pike, District Heights, MD)
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Author details: Jamaal West is the author of The Official How To Rap Manual. He has over 15 years experience helping others improve rap skill and rhyming ability. Inventor of the How2rap Point-System & The Understanding Bars Tutorial his techniques on teaching others to rap have been regarded as one of the best of its kind since the year 2000.
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