Reason Interview: king hassan
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5th Letter
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5th Letter- Where are you from?
king hassan- Born in Jackson, MS and raised between there and Chicago, been back permanently here since 1995
5th Letter- What made you move back and forth?
king hassan- Mom's ain't like the cold to much. And I stayed with my aunt for a while then went down later after freshman year. Graduated high school then went on to the Navy
5th Letter- What was your experience like in the Navy?
king hassan- It was cool for the most part, it was the early 90's so we still had some Vietnam era sailors that were straight crazy. Racist as hell, but overall I enjoyed the experience. Met people from all walks of life and from a lot of places, even met white cats that had never seen black people face to face until they joined the service. ? was crazy, man it's parts of America where people live you wouldn't know existed. But being young and crazy, it was good times. And this was before the internet and cell phones, we had a lot of fun because we were always out and about instead of sitting in the house all day. And I went to 15 countries while in there and it opened my eyes to a lot of things.
5th Letter- Were you personally affected by the racism
king hassan- Of course, but I didn't let it affect me to much because as racist as they were I was just as militant. But it was mostly the old rednecks that had been in for 30 plus years and the white cats from ? ? Virginia somewhere. Some white cats were cool and some weren't, just had to see who showed their colors
5th Letter- What was your early life like?
king hassan- Regular kid stuff, playing sports, fighting, playing doorbell ditch, you know the routine, no different than any other shorty
5th Letter- If you don't mind answering what do you do for a living
king kassan- I work in the health care field in Radiololgy, scheduling appointments for patients, MRI, CT, XRAY, Nuc Med, anything to do with radiation, tedious job but it pays the bills
5th Letter- What got you in that field
king hassan- Happened into it. I worked as a purchaser for the Kraft company for many years but we got laid off and I didn't work for a year. One of my homegirls worked @ U of C, asked me to send a resume' and the rest is history
5th Letter- How did you get into hip hop
king hassan- Hmmm, well hip hop found me. Growing up we listened to the radio a lot and I remember when "Rappers Delight" came out. The cadence was different from singing so I became attracted to that. Then Blondie dropped "Rapture" which was singing but the rapping part attracted me as well. Mind you this was the late 70's early 80's, and these were the main "hip hop" songs you heard on the radio. I know from history that it was big in NYC at the time, but it was more local for them. Then around 82-83 Afrika Bambaata and The Jonzun Crew came out and it exploded from there and they actually played it consistently on the radio. Then a lot of the older cats that were in the military were coming home on leave or getting out were bring these mixes home and we were hooked.
5th Letter- Did you think hip hop was just a fad?
king hassan- Nah, I was young at the time, so I had no concept of it being a fad. Only older people thought it was a fad
5th Letter- Explain the evolution of 80's hip hop
king hassan- hip hop was using synths and rock samples mostly when it first blew up and most cats were dressing like the funk and punk artists from the 70's, I know Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five dressed that way but so did Bam and his crew. DMC came on the scene with a slightly different soul and with videos you could see them and breakdancing became popular as well. But unfortunately that was a fad and crashed and burned quickly. But the game was changing so fast in the 80's from the electronic to rock to the soul samples. BDP dropped criminal minded in 86 and Eric B and Rakim dropped soon after, that killed it for Run DMC and LL Cool J was in the mix but he had his own thing going. But hip hop flipped to straight lyricism and a lot of the older cats couldn't keep up so they got pushed out the game. The time period between 86-89 was a monster, with the sampling of soul records, But on the flip side sampling caused a lot of people to switch up because of the sampling laws. Biz Markie and De La Soul got hit hard because of that.
5th Letter- What was your opinion on the east/west beef etc
king hassan- I think it was a bunch of ? because I enjoyed music from both coasts. And I don't think the artists themselves started it but the media. And that's dumb as hell not to enjoy something from a certain area because someone told you to, you miss out on great music from both sides.
5th Letter- What did you feel about the evolution of hip hop from the 80's to the 90's
king hassan- Well, the early 90's still had a feel from the late 80's, but the late 90's is when things changed. First you had the division of "undaground vs mainstream" which meant whatever was popular everybody jumped on the band wagon. The music didn't sound as authentic and artists were rushing to put as many songs out there as possible. So the artists that were putting they everything into the music was getting pushed back for the financial bottom line. Even tho the so call underground artist had as big of fan base and could make as much money.
5th Letter- That leads to the next question when did you think hip hop took a turn
king hassan- I will say the late 90's.The sound was totally different and the market got flooded with more rappers and producers. It became to many rappers and producers, which I liken to the dope game, just a few people selling you got good product, when too many people doing it it gets cut and diluted
5th Letter- Who are your favorite and least favorite rappers?
king hassan- I don't really have any on either side of the question. I can say I can't get with a lot of these new cats because I've matured but I've heard so many rappers in 35 years it's hard to pin point. And being a DJ myself and crate digging and spinning records my musical tastes are all over the place and that's why I can never call a single rapper the goat.
5th Letter- What got you into DJing
king hassan- When we were kids me and my little brother always played on pops record player and one of his friends was a DJ on the radio station and we just thought he was a cool dude, so I wanted to do that. Also this DJ at the skating rink would let me sit up there while he was spinning and watching the crowd react to what he was playing intrigued me
5th Letter- When did you start DJing
king hassan- Around 15, but I never did it in front of a crowd until I was about 19When I was in the Navy my homie from Miami had his tables on the ship and when he'd do parties and needed a break I'd step in and spin. After I got out my homie DJ Phingaprint who used to be Crooked Letterz DJ along with David Banner and Kamikaze would do shows and parties and I took a lot of cues from him, then I did parties myself on my own. And I used to listen to WHPK here in Chicago all the time and ended up getting a once a month Thursday night spot where I spun break beats and originals to hip hop for a 10 year run. Now I just spin in the basement of the crib but people still ask me to do a party all the time.
king hassan- Born in Jackson, MS and raised between there and Chicago, been back permanently here since 1995
5th Letter- What made you move back and forth?
king hassan- Mom's ain't like the cold to much. And I stayed with my aunt for a while then went down later after freshman year. Graduated high school then went on to the Navy
5th Letter- What was your experience like in the Navy?
king hassan- It was cool for the most part, it was the early 90's so we still had some Vietnam era sailors that were straight crazy. Racist as hell, but overall I enjoyed the experience. Met people from all walks of life and from a lot of places, even met white cats that had never seen black people face to face until they joined the service. ? was crazy, man it's parts of America where people live you wouldn't know existed. But being young and crazy, it was good times. And this was before the internet and cell phones, we had a lot of fun because we were always out and about instead of sitting in the house all day. And I went to 15 countries while in there and it opened my eyes to a lot of things.
5th Letter- Were you personally affected by the racism
king hassan- Of course, but I didn't let it affect me to much because as racist as they were I was just as militant. But it was mostly the old rednecks that had been in for 30 plus years and the white cats from ? ? Virginia somewhere. Some white cats were cool and some weren't, just had to see who showed their colors
5th Letter- What was your early life like?
king hassan- Regular kid stuff, playing sports, fighting, playing doorbell ditch, you know the routine, no different than any other shorty
5th Letter- If you don't mind answering what do you do for a living
king kassan- I work in the health care field in Radiololgy, scheduling appointments for patients, MRI, CT, XRAY, Nuc Med, anything to do with radiation, tedious job but it pays the bills
5th Letter- What got you in that field
king hassan- Happened into it. I worked as a purchaser for the Kraft company for many years but we got laid off and I didn't work for a year. One of my homegirls worked @ U of C, asked me to send a resume' and the rest is history
5th Letter- How did you get into hip hop
king hassan- Hmmm, well hip hop found me. Growing up we listened to the radio a lot and I remember when "Rappers Delight" came out. The cadence was different from singing so I became attracted to that. Then Blondie dropped "Rapture" which was singing but the rapping part attracted me as well. Mind you this was the late 70's early 80's, and these were the main "hip hop" songs you heard on the radio. I know from history that it was big in NYC at the time, but it was more local for them. Then around 82-83 Afrika Bambaata and The Jonzun Crew came out and it exploded from there and they actually played it consistently on the radio. Then a lot of the older cats that were in the military were coming home on leave or getting out were bring these mixes home and we were hooked.
5th Letter- Did you think hip hop was just a fad?
king hassan- Nah, I was young at the time, so I had no concept of it being a fad. Only older people thought it was a fad
5th Letter- Explain the evolution of 80's hip hop
king hassan- hip hop was using synths and rock samples mostly when it first blew up and most cats were dressing like the funk and punk artists from the 70's, I know Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five dressed that way but so did Bam and his crew. DMC came on the scene with a slightly different soul and with videos you could see them and breakdancing became popular as well. But unfortunately that was a fad and crashed and burned quickly. But the game was changing so fast in the 80's from the electronic to rock to the soul samples. BDP dropped criminal minded in 86 and Eric B and Rakim dropped soon after, that killed it for Run DMC and LL Cool J was in the mix but he had his own thing going. But hip hop flipped to straight lyricism and a lot of the older cats couldn't keep up so they got pushed out the game. The time period between 86-89 was a monster, with the sampling of soul records, But on the flip side sampling caused a lot of people to switch up because of the sampling laws. Biz Markie and De La Soul got hit hard because of that.
5th Letter- What was your opinion on the east/west beef etc
king hassan- I think it was a bunch of ? because I enjoyed music from both coasts. And I don't think the artists themselves started it but the media. And that's dumb as hell not to enjoy something from a certain area because someone told you to, you miss out on great music from both sides.
5th Letter- What did you feel about the evolution of hip hop from the 80's to the 90's
king hassan- Well, the early 90's still had a feel from the late 80's, but the late 90's is when things changed. First you had the division of "undaground vs mainstream" which meant whatever was popular everybody jumped on the band wagon. The music didn't sound as authentic and artists were rushing to put as many songs out there as possible. So the artists that were putting they everything into the music was getting pushed back for the financial bottom line. Even tho the so call underground artist had as big of fan base and could make as much money.
5th Letter- That leads to the next question when did you think hip hop took a turn
king hassan- I will say the late 90's.The sound was totally different and the market got flooded with more rappers and producers. It became to many rappers and producers, which I liken to the dope game, just a few people selling you got good product, when too many people doing it it gets cut and diluted
5th Letter- Who are your favorite and least favorite rappers?
king hassan- I don't really have any on either side of the question. I can say I can't get with a lot of these new cats because I've matured but I've heard so many rappers in 35 years it's hard to pin point. And being a DJ myself and crate digging and spinning records my musical tastes are all over the place and that's why I can never call a single rapper the goat.
5th Letter- What got you into DJing
king hassan- When we were kids me and my little brother always played on pops record player and one of his friends was a DJ on the radio station and we just thought he was a cool dude, so I wanted to do that. Also this DJ at the skating rink would let me sit up there while he was spinning and watching the crowd react to what he was playing intrigued me
5th Letter- When did you start DJing
king hassan- Around 15, but I never did it in front of a crowd until I was about 19When I was in the Navy my homie from Miami had his tables on the ship and when he'd do parties and needed a break I'd step in and spin. After I got out my homie DJ Phingaprint who used to be Crooked Letterz DJ along with David Banner and Kamikaze would do shows and parties and I took a lot of cues from him, then I did parties myself on my own. And I used to listen to WHPK here in Chicago all the time and ended up getting a once a month Thursday night spot where I spun break beats and originals to hip hop for a 10 year run. Now I just spin in the basement of the crib but people still ask me to do a party all the time.
Comments
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5th Letter- What are some of your favorite albums
king hassan- Whew, let me see. Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Long Live the Kane, First 4 De La Soul Albums, 93 Til Infiniti, Both Pharcydes first albums, Comptons Most Wanted first 3 Albums, It takes a Nation and Fear of A Black Planet
Amerikkka's Most Wanted, First 3 Tribe Albums, OC....Word Life, First 4 Gangstar Albums, Pete Rock & CL Smooth Main Ingrediant, IllMatic, Enter the 36 Chambers, Paul's Boutique, Special Ed Youngest in Charge, Show And AG Runaway Slave
EPMD's first 4 albums, Getto Boys first 2 albums, Soul on Ice, Resurrection, One Day It will All Make Sense, Like Water for Chocolate, The Roots first 5 albums, Ready To Die, MMM...Food and Madvillian, Cyrpress Hill first joint, BDP first 6 albums, E & Rakim first 3 albums, LL Cool J Radio, man, it's a lot. I can't think of them all, and as you see I'm all over the place with it
5th Letter- What are your thoughts on today's hip hop
king hassan- I don't think to much about it. I just rock with the ones I've been rocking with forever, but the new cats out now are for the cats that's down with what they doing. I don't turn up, I'm older and more chill and I don't go to clubs so those songs are not for me so I don't check for them. But I do see both sides of the argument between us older cats and the young dudes. I mean, they not in it to make quality music, they in it to be popular and that's it. I'm not mad they making money, but make the product worthwhile. And the old cats, just say ? em and keep it moving
5th Letter- How did you discover the IC
king hassan- Sitting at work looking for this EPMD song "The Big Payback" on video and it lead me here, this was the summer of 2006
5th Letter- How long did it take you to sign up?
king hassan- It took a minute because I'd be off and on with work. But it was a thread I wanted to reply to so I ended up signing up then, I can't remember what it was about tho
5th Letter- What year was this
king hassan- 2006
5th Letter- What are your earliest memories of the IC?
king hassan- Man, the IC was wide open at the time. The reason was popping, the powder room, donkey, grown and sexy, cheap seats, ? was wild. And I remember it being a bunch of women on here, and a lot of them I rapped to offline and even dated one for a while. They had a sample thread in the Reason where cats where dropping the originals to hip hop tracks, man, it was live. New music was getting dropped and even the old school was bigged up back then too. We didn't have a new Tupac thread every other day and it was actually a lot of women in the Reason too that had hip hop knowledge. Hummingbird and PinkLady stayed dropping hot ? in there. And it was some true fools on there, now it seems like the IC is aiming to make it a sausage fest
5th Letter- What are some things you'd like to change about the IC
king hassan- Truthfully I'm not that invested to make a change. Even if I was, I know ain't nothing happening. I'm on here during work and when I get to the crib I'm totally doing something else
5th Letter- What are some of the craziest things you've seen since you've been on the IC
king hassan-LOL it be a lot of talking but nobody walking. The exposers have become passé, seeing ? and ? online is cool I guess if I was a kid, but I'm around broads all day so it don't really phase me. But the ? talking that goes back and forth between people be funny as ? . It used to be a chick on here from the BX, Maria7, man she unloaded a verbal can of whup ass on this chick, that ? was beyond ether, she put here in a dark space. But truthfully I miss a lot of stuff if it don't happen during work hours because I'm off here after that
5th Letter- Who are your favorite and least favorite posters
king hassan- Or course all the Chicago posters, and my two aces @Elzo69Renaissance, @J-Gutta, the homie @Dro, always got some slick ? to say, the old heads of course, even that crazy ass @5Grand, he be saying some off the wall ? but I rocks with him. @CapitalB, @Cinco, @Aneed and the few women are cool, but overall, I have no beef.
The least favorite are all those ? ? on here
5th Letter- Any last words before we wrap up
king hassan- Keep hip hop alive
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The OG @king Hassan!!!
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OG still holding it down around here 100
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This man knows his stuff
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5th Letter wrote: »5th Letter- How did you discover the IC
king hassan- Sitting at work looking for this EPMD song "The Big Payback" on video and it lead me here, this was the summer of 2006
5th Letter- How long did it take you to sign up?
king hassan- It took a minute because I'd be off and on with work. But it was a thread I wanted to reply to so I ended up signing up then, I can't remember what it was about tho
5th Letter- What year was this
king hassan- 2006
Jamaica's short term memory having ass :joy: -
Props for giving my boy a interview
@kinghassan always good peoples always been 100 here and off the IC -
LcnsdbyROYALTY wrote: »5th Letter wrote: »5th Letter- How did you discover the IC
king hassan- Sitting at work looking for this EPMD song "The Big Payback" on video and it lead me here, this was the summer of 2006
5th Letter- How long did it take you to sign up?
king hassan- It took a minute because I'd be off and on with work. But it was a thread I wanted to reply to so I ended up signing up then, I can't remember what it was about tho
5th Letter- What year was this
king hassan- 2006
Jamaica's short term memory having ass :joy:
Lol nah sometimes posters might say they started lurking in year A, but don't sign up until year B -
5th Letter wrote: »LcnsdbyROYALTY wrote: »5th Letter wrote: »5th Letter- How did you discover the IC
king hassan- Sitting at work looking for this EPMD song "The Big Payback" on video and it lead me here, this was the summer of 2006
5th Letter- How long did it take you to sign up?
king hassan- It took a minute because I'd be off and on with work. But it was a thread I wanted to reply to so I ended up signing up then, I can't remember what it was about tho
5th Letter- What year was this
king hassan- 2006
Jamaica's short term memory having ass :joy:
Lol nah sometimes posters might say they started lurking in year A, but don't sign up until year B
Lol I'm aware. I'd fall into that category. I just thought that ? was funny, especially with hassan's abrupt-ass 2006. Like "? , I just told you." -
Great interview
And yeah, I lurked for like 2 years before I started posting -
Wait, this ? ain't really from Chicago?
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Joking.
GOAT'd for Honor, Courage, and Commitment.
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Dope interview, dope poster...
Just for the Special Ed name drop...
I Got It Made
https://youtu.be/N_9GuiE5Fck
Think About It
https://youtu.be/l-Vs0gYDN20 -
One of my favorite posters.
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one of my favorite posters..
go read this ? when im sober! lol -
soul rattler wrote: »Wait, this ? ain't really from Chicago?
That Sipp/Chicago connection is REAL! -
This ? has me weak right now lmaoo.5th Letter wrote: »
5th Letter- What are some of the craziest things you've seen since you've been on the IC
king hassan-LOL it be a lot of talking but nobody walking. The exposers have become passé, seeing ? and ? online is cool I guess if I was a kid, but I'm around broads all day so it don't really phase me. But the ? talking that goes back and forth between people be funny as ? . It used to be a chick on here from the BX, Maria7, man she unloaded a verbal can of whup ass on this chick, that ? was beyond ether, she put her in a dark space. But truthfully I miss a lot of stuff if it don't happen during work hours because I'm off here after that -
As we honor a og @Kat where are the stories about u havin a train ran on u
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One of the most level headed posters on the board.
Dope record collection as well. -
OG! One of the realest on here.
Dope interview. -
Dope interview
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Good interview!
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@king hassan is real Hip Hop head.
Nas or Jay Z. Ether or takeover. Who you think is the better Emcee and why -
@king hassan is real Hip Hop head.
Nas or Jay Z. Ether or takeover. Who you think is the better Emcee and why
It's not dead, just not promoted. it's cheaper to throw trash out there as opposed to something more hearty. Think of it as organic and non organic food. The one that's better for you will be more expensive and the "less" good for you is readily available.
Ether was better to me imo, but at this point they one and the same.
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Good interview....OG poster always droppin that history from a non bias standpoint
