Interview I did early this year with the Hungarian Hiphop mag Ghetto Radio:
http://www.ghettoradio.hu/index.php?p=detail&q=interview&id=63
English version right here so read on...
1. Aiyo Shadow, for the ones that don't know, please summarize a bit who you are and what you are all about in this hiphop game...
I'm The White Shadow Of Norway, beatmaker, turntablist, producer, and Hiphop activist in that order.
What I fight for is the return of real Hiphop, and the end of the commercial (c)Rap that's been polluting our culture for way too long, and trust me there's people all over the planet fighting, and we're gonna win. Just watch it! Sooner rather than later most people will know the difference between real Hiphop, and the commercialized fake version of it, and that will change the music industry on a whole, and once again Hiphop will be in control of it's own culture, and in the long run Hiphop will be a major part in changin' the world to a better place to be for all which is why it's so important. I know it sounds pretentious, and ambiguous (laughs), but it's the truth brute.
Back to me for a sec. I've been into Hiphop since 1980, been a DJ since 1978, makin' beats since the mid 80's, producing since the late 80's, have produced and done cuts on more than 80 records, and have worked with 100's of emcees during the last three decades, have my own label, Uncut Productions, since 1998, before that it was called Sucka U Wish Productions, have won two Norwegian DMC DJ battles, lived in New York during the early 90's golden era of Hiphop, and DJ'd all the top clubs there, and been the opening DJ for Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, KRS-One, Tribe Called Quest, Gangstarr, Masta Ace, and many more, been a member of the BDP Boogie Down Productions crew, KRS-One's brother ICU hooked me up, been a proud member of the Zulu Nation since the early 90's, and Bambaataa hooked that up personally after we met at a gig I played in New York, have released a lot of records on my label on vinyl, CD, and digital including my producer albums featuring various artists mainly from the US such as Joell Ortiz, KRS-One, Ras Kass, Kool G Rap, Craig G, Tash from The Alkaholiks, Reef The Lost Cauze, Chief Kamachi, Melle Mel, Supastition, Infinito 2017, GHG, Creative Juices, Arsonists, Pizdamen to mention a few. All my albums are available on ITunes @:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-white-shadow/id275601519?uo=4
I continue producing and layin' cuts for various artists from all over the planet, and this year so far I've worked with The Snowgoons, Craig G, The B-Boys Donald D & Brother B..we got a track in the makin' featuring Ice-T, Human Genocide Process, KHB featuring Joell Ortiz, and more. Always busy in the studio makin' new bangers, and puttin' in work cause music is my life, and Hiphop my lifetime mission. My next album release will be "Instrumentals 2" which drops on April 15th. I'm also workin' on the next White Shadow producer album, and am about half way there on the beats so far.
Despite all that I'm like The Jungle Brothers said.."I'm a Jungle Brother, a true blue brother, and I been to many places you'll never discover." Basically I'm a nice, down to earth, and humble guy who loves my family, friends, and music, and I'm a total music-nut at that (laughs). Music, and especially Hiphop makes life worth living, and it also saves lives.
2. How would you describe your sound and what makes you standout in the producer "competition"?
It's still a combo of the streets of New York, and beautiful nature of Norway with a lot of influences besides that too like movies, the universe, life, the dimensions, Hiphop itself inspires me, etc. Everything I experience I put into the music somehow. What sets me apart from a lot of producers is that I'm a turntablist as well so I do my own cuts on the joints, and people tell me I'm more versatile than most, like I can make epic orchestral bangers, dirty raw street shit, soulful jazzy stuff, spaced out and eerie beats, even club, House, Funk, and so on. I try not to get stuck with one style, but still people tell me they can hear a Shadow beat a mile away so I guess in all that diversity there's still my own style to it as well.
3. The fact that you are from Norway, how it affects your sound, your approach and influences?
When all's said and done it don't really affect that much, but I do have a combo of something cinematic like say a lot of strings and stuff in my beats, and sort of a warrior type sound to it as well which must come from the history of Norway, like the Vikings, and northern mythology which I'm proud of because it's our religion, it's the Norwegian religion, and ways of life since back in the days, like now you know Norway is the richest country in the world so most people here's livin' good, and that makes people lazy, but there was a time when we were straight up savages, you know how the Vikings conquered land and all that. Now, I'm a peaceful guy who hates war, but that era still fascinates me as it's our heritage so as far as Norway being heard in my music that must be it. I also sample from Norwegian records sometimes, but not all that much being that I'm from here really. As far as Hiphop I'm closer to the various scenes in the US because I've always been a fan of the east coast Hiphop from Furious 5 to Rakim to Jedi Mind Tricks, so even though Norwegian Hiphop developed it's own kinda sound, and scene over the years, I'm more a part of the east coast sound.
4. All i can say "The White Shadow of Norway" is one the illest name i ever heard. It got that mystic symbol vibe. How this name came together?
Thanks fam, I appreciate that man! That's dope you think so cause I been called a retard because of that name too (laughs)., but here's the story. I've had plenty of DJ names over the years, I actually called myself Peter Jones in the late 70's, funny cause you know Pete DJ Jones, Hiphop and dance music pioneer from Brooklyn, but I didn't know about him, I just thought it had a cool sound to it, switched it to Mike Jones a couple of years later, still early 80's, then out of all things I called myself Rapmaster Scratch which I'm almost embarrased to tell you cause that name does suck bigtime! (laughs), then in the late 80's I called myself DJ Fresh which was decent, then when I moved to New York I was lookin' for a new name, so my manager, and I came up with DJ Shadow, then the DJ Shadow most people know turned up in The Source on the unsigned hype column, so he got some fame so I had to change it again. People in New York kept calling me White Shadow anyway after the 70's TV show about the Basketball coach White Shadow, and I don't hardly know the basket from the ball, so it had to do with me being one of very few white Hiphop DJ's in New York back then who made noise on the scene as there was only a few of us, like me, Stretch Armstrong, Duke Of Denmark, a couple others, and that was it, so that became my nickname in New York anyway, then some other dude started calling himself that too later in the late 90's/early 00's, so D-Stroy from The Arsonists came up with adding the Of Norway to it in 2001, and finally I'd found a name that no one else is gonna grab hopefully. The White Shadow Of Norway.
5. You lived and been part of the New York hiphop scene for a while. Explain a bit those years...
I talked a little about that already, and I'm gonna save the details for my bio which I'm writing nowadays, but to sum it up it was a dream come true to be a part of the Hiphop scene in New York during the best era when the foundations for what Hiphop is now was laid, like the boombap beats, the scratched hooks, and skills on the mic on a deeper level was all developed during that era so to be in the middle of that, and a small part of shaping it was incredible. As a Hiphop fiend it don't get any better than that, and also to be able to play all the best clubs, and just play Hiphop the whole night was luxuary to me cause in Norway it was all commercial music. I mean, Hiphop didn't hit big here til the late 90's as far as a lifestyle for people in general, so just to be able to do that was incredible to me back then, so in a way it was the best time of my life, still I don't wanna repeat it. I don't really wanna go back at all cause it'll fuck with the memories, but yeah, New York was much like Guru (RIP) said that if you know what's good, and you got skills you'll get respect there, but "If you come to Brooklyn frontin, you'll get mushed quick".
6. You latest album is called "Destiny". Introduce a bit this material...
Destiny is my latest album on Uncut Productions. I did all the beats, and cuts as usual, there's 20 songs on it, and 50 featured artists like KRS-One, Joell Ortiz, Ras Kass, Kool G Rap, Kamachi, Planet Asia, Reef The Lost Cauze, GHG, Pizdamen, Venom & Cruz of HGP, and many more. If you like hard beats, skills on the mic, and crazy cuts you'll like my albums. You won't find one singin' hook, or any Autotune, or none of that bs. My albums are Hiphop for the people who are fans of basic Hiphop and would like to keep it that way. You can cop the album, and all my previous on the ITunes link above.
7. Besides the producer thing, you are a DJ as well. Are you still active in this field, how it looks like now?
It's been a while since I've rocked the clubs now cause I been much more into production in the past ten years, but I can still play well, I still do it on the regular, I still practice on the tables every day, and I'm into a lot of different music, I always stay up on whatever new music's hot, and I continue developing my skills to get better at it, and I know how to rock a party...any party, as I've played for all kindsa different crowds over the years, so if I feel like doin' it then maybe I'll return to the clubs, and DJ'ing part or full time again, but also maybe not, we'll have to see, cause you know I love the music, DJ'ing in general, and rockin' crowds, the parties, the girls, and all that's dope, but also I love staying at home, so I hate travelling, and having to get stressed out for hours because of delayed transportation, or coming to a club or venue where I have to spend extra hours to get the sound right, promoters always tryin' to under-pay you, or not at all, so it's a lot of stress too, so it's a double edged sword to me. A love/hate relationship, so...right now, I enjoy staying in the comfort of the lab, the studio, and just make records, so most likely I'll continue doin' that, but never say never again, but if I start DJ'ing again the first gig's gotta be special cause since I been away from it for a minute I gotta return with a bang, or at least in style you know, but I've done it so much, and played the best spots so I'm most likely done with it, but never know...like, I been saying my latest albums were gonna be my last now so many times not even I believe in it anymore (laughs), so I've come to terms with that it's a lifetime thing, and that I'll always be makin' music, and that I'll always be a part of Hiphop as long as I'm alive on this planet.
8. In your carreer, who are your biggest influences and mentors? How important is that to you?
My Dad (RIP) first of all. He was a guitar player, and singer, and is the one who got me into music, and DJ'ing in the first place, my Mom for staying strong and never givin' up no matter what she's had to go through, she's my role model no question. In the music world there's too many to namedrop like you know, anyone from James Brown to Kiss to Parliament/Funkadelic to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, to moviemakers like Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, to the early Norwegian Black Metal bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, and Burzum, to writers like Agatha Christie, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to world revolutonaries like Ghandi or Malcolm X, to Thor, Buddah, Jesus, even Satan, movements like Flower Power, The Zulu Nation, Killuminati, and Desteni, and lots more.. Trust me, I have a lot of influences, but I don't look up to anyone like an idol or a God or any of that, and neither do I follow anyone or anything in particular. There's a lot of people, and stuff I respect, and like it always is in Hiphop, I take the best parts from all those influences and mix em up in the witches brew.
9. What are your plans/projects for this year?
Instrumentals 2, then the next White Shadow producer album featuring various artists but that'll probably not drop til 2012, most likely on December 22 (laughs), I produced, and did cuts on the next Snowgoons album, The Iron Fist, which drops on April 5th.. My joint on it's called The Return Of The Iron Fist, and features Virtuoso, and The Savage Brothers. I just heard the full track today, and man y'all got something to look fwd to. The whole album's gonna be insane, and every producer and emcee put in ther A-game. Top notch all the way! Besides that I'll be workin' on a lot of music on the side like last year, so I don't yet know with who, which is half the fun.
10. Any last thoughts to the readers?
Personally I'd like to thank everyone who cops, and listens to my music, and enjoys it, and if I can inspire others to do well in music, and life, I'm happy. In general I'd like to say that Hiphop is quite possibly the most important movement, and culture in the history of the world which makes it so much more important that we take good care of it, and pass on the good shit to the next generations. Pass the plugs like they used to say. Peace.
Interview: Bela Nagy
