411Music Exclusive Interview - Tristate Of One Session
Posted by Selwyn DeSa on 04.12.2006
A few words with an up and comer.
Selwyn DeSa: First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. What have you been up too lately?
Tristate: Well right now, we're in Hollywood, we're doing a show tonight, got sound-check in an hour. We been on tour since December
Selwyn DeSa: DJ Bobby B, and Minus One were in a group called Da Nayborhoodz for 7 years, how did you come into the mix, and that turn into One Session?
Tristate: Cringe also played Bass for them; anyway, Minus One and I were both working for LAX at the airport. He worked for Northwest and I worked for American, and he had heard that I rapped. So he spit, then I spit, we were both fucking around with the same people at the time, I met his partner, met Cringe, and I jumped on it.
Selwyn DeSa: How long has One Session been together now?
Tristate: It has only been about two and a half years; the chemistry was so perfect that it didn't take long.
Selwyn DeSa: What led to your signing with Sub Noize?
Tristate: Bobby B contacted Minus and he heard some of our shit, he took it the label and that was it. That's also how we came up with the name for the album "Hidden Treasures" because he said that's what our music was.
Selwyn DeSa: How excited were you to sign with them?
Tristate: Honestly, I was more in the LA underground scene; King T from the Alkaholiks put me on, but I remembered KMK from when they were on Capitol with Dilated Peoples.
Selwyn DeSa: Signing to Sub Noize gives you access to a huge existing fan base. Do you feel any added pressure to try to win them over?
Tristate: We all feel that we just do us; we don't have to win anyone over. When they started their movement, we were making our own movement.
Selwyn DeSa: What do you feel you bring to Sub Noize?
Tristate: Just music from the mind and soul, it might not be for everybody but we'll go in the lab and do what we do. Real recognize real as the saying goes. You can call it anything; we call it hardhop, a melodic dose of soul, samples of art.
Selwyn DeSa: What can we expect from Family Jewels?
Tristate: On Family Jewels, your going to hear the nucleus of the sound, we're going to expose the nucleus. With Sub Noize we all do different music and we all accept each other, and on Hidden Treasures we welcomed anyone from the label who wanted to be down to my LA studio, this time we said we going to do what we been doing.
Selwyn DeSa: So who else besides yourselves appear on this album?
Tristate: We got King T from the Alkaholiks, Planet Asia, Self Scientific, we got Chaka Khans daughter Milini on there. It's going to be explosive man; I'm excited.
Selwyn DeSa: When can we expect that to drop?
Tristate: Right now, we're working on a June date, definitely sometime this summer.
Selwyn DeSa: I read that One Session is on a mission to bring hip-hop back to its underground roots and restore it to its original form, what did you mean by that? How will you go about accomplishing this?
Tristate: I truly believe that if we stay true and dedicated and do it for the love of the art like it used to be. Nowadays you have a culture powered by money and love of the art is gone, we write from within, not for radio longevity. We're creating what we feel is real art.
Selwyn DeSa: Sub Noize has been expanding lately, signing and bringing in many new artists. The label seems to be evolving, what are your thoughts about that?
Tristate: Well everything evolves, what goes around comes around, what goes up must come down. It's a good thing to have different types of music around, it's not all about pot smoking anymore, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Selwyn DeSa: Out of all the recent signings, you were the first to come out. Do you feel you set the tone for everyone else?
Tristate: Well I'm obviously biased but I definitely feel we raised the bar; it's all competitive. I mean X Clan is going to be dope, if they came out first I'm sure they would of raised the bar. Big B is doing well, Dirtball, Hed PE, we still new so we hungry, it's a lovely day.
Selwyn DeSa: Who are some of your influences?
Tristate: There's so many, from the forefathers of hip-hop from KRS One, to Big Daddy Kane, to Kool G Rap, to Rakim. Everything from James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Nirvana, The Eagles, Chicago Slum Village, Linkin Park, if someone found my I-Pod they'd be like who's I-Pod is this? The others are the same way, I mean we can sit around and listen to Incubus all day then turn around and put Mariah Carey in' we're very abstract.
Selwyn DeSa: What is in your CD player right now?
Tristate: I've been on a mixtape craze lately; I got that latest Big Boy Game from Big Mike. Dwela, Some Kinda, I got that One Session Family Jewels rough draft. I have some jazz, some Boney James, and I am a big Wu fan so I always keep a slot open for them.
Selwyn DeSa: You have worked with different artist throughout your career; does anyone stand out as your favorite?
Tristate: I've worked with Ras Kass, NeYo, Xzibit, and Bad Ass from Snoops crew. Rock Marciano, Planet Asia, Ben Buford, King T, Young Melee, I can't pick a favorite.
Selwyn DeSa: Is there anyone you want to work with that you have not had a chance to yet?
Tristate: On the production side, I'd love to work with Kanye or Timbaland. The Neptunes, Dre, DJ Premiere, Pete Rock, A Tribe Called Quest. For artists I'd say Jay Z and Nas because that's who I was listening to when started rapping and writing rhymes, honing my style.
Selwyn DeSa: What would you be doing if you were not in music?
Tristate: I got a college degree so I probably be working in the field that I got my degree.
Selwyn DeSa: I want to thank you for taking a few minutes to answer my questions, good luck with the show tonight, and I look forward to the new album.
