ABW Interviews: Chicity
- Thread starter Goldie
- Start date
Bet. Let's start how we always do. We all know you're from Chi-city. Explain how it is to grow up there. Is it really like the media makes it seem or did u grow up in the safe area and not sure.
Growing up on the South Side of my city was fun as fuck. It wasn't nothing like what the news portrays the last 5-7 years to be. Gun violence wasn't this radical. It least if it was I wasn't aware of it. My fam stayed in a few PJ's but even then it wasn't a weekly thing for shootings. My cousins in the Dearborns had beef in the Ickies. Shootouts once a month. Bungalows fought it the Ida B's, once a month. Mostly you had to worry about getting jumped. I knew where to go and not go so for the most part I was gucci. I stayed on the Lowend and enjoyed a lakefront upbringing. Traveled to Indiana and Wisconsin in the summers. Great sport teams in the 80's and 90's.
My family was worse than any strangers in the streets lol. I spent most my time running from my big bro and his friends then dudes in the street. They were determined we was the new generation of Chief Malik soldiers and i think most of them getting locked up saved me and a few of my friends. I still give all due respect to Malik and the five when I'm in the city but it may just be lip service or tradition at this point.
Any nothing like this, we had codes and certain shit we wouldn't do and the kids now don't seem to live like that. I'm thankful my kin got old heads that keep them fairly inline.
Now Chicago has birthed a few hiphop legends like Kanye and Common, did you ever bump into any of these cats on the come up? or do you have any stories about em that only people from the Chi would know?
Hell no!
My favorite rapper coming up was Hammer! I ain't give no shit about nasally Common. Ye...never heard of him til he started making waves with the ROC. Twista stayed in the 100's and that might as well be Jersey from where I was at. The only cat that stayed in my immediate area was Kellz and he the Kang of R&B so I want share any of the stories from Hyde Park High School. Musically I grew up on a lot of No Limit. Whenever they came thru the city was lit up but outside of them I wasn't checking for anyone in person.
I'm unemployed atm. Recently was let go from a place I was at for 10yrs. It dealt with Telecommunications. Did it in the Army, seemed like a good choice when I got out.No limit?Moving along..
What do you do for a living? Why did you chose that as a profession? Is it the profession that you always wanted to do, if not what was it?
I don't think I ever had a dream profession. My Computer science told me in 11th Grade that I would be teaching in some capacity and sure enough I was doing that the last 8yrs
We used to walk past the school on the way to the Hyde Park shopping center. He used to be out there with his guys....97-99. Never saw him up close but everyone knew he was out there. Never stayed long, signed autographs and shit. Anything else is hearsay. I will say a chick on my block 'waited in line' one day and got the address to a place I suppose his crew was gonna be but she chickened out lol. this was like 00 or 01. She had just started to really developing and was mad shy and tomboyish
But again Kellz was Kellz. Niggasz either been cursing his name or blessing him since 92.
How did you get into computers/IT? What are some "tricks" or things u can do with computers?
Why did you get fired?
Telecom is different from IT/Computers. I dealt with TV's, radios, Internet services, satellites. Creating networks for home, think like Dish Network or DirecTV. I used to do switch boards and punch down phone blocks and shit. Built dish relays in Afghan. Provided European and German internet to the sand box. Long range radio, even tho it was dying out
I got let go because I wasn't willing to take a pay cut and a change in position. Figured I should just try my luck elsewhere rather than stick with that company
All time? Shit. So when I think top overall rappers I think of who I’d rather listen to. These guys ain’t the best lyricist, or the best hit makers, or the most catchy but they resonant with me and what I believe in
1) Nas. As I stated before my favorite rapper up into like 93-94 was Hammer. Musically the nigga was a pop star on drugs. After that it was Diddy but moreso Bad Boy cause they were popping. When Big and Pac died I stared really caring about what rappers was saying cause I had no idea why cats was losing tears over them. I had always admire Nas use of big ass words and how flipped sounds, as well as told stories and seemed to embody NYC as a whole. So in like 98 after catching up on whose who lyrically he stood out. I felt like a lot of cats bite Illmatic and when I spoke with older cats they agreed but always said he was too laid back, compared to a Busta, a Big, hell X when he jumped out. So since I graduated Elementary I been rocking with Nas and he ain’t let me down. I was one of the few dudes in HS that thought he rocked Jay during the wars. As I got older he got older and I never thought he was chasing anyone else life style but his own. Outside the mafia shit.
2) I say Ye. Musically he been in another world since 03..04. To me he represents the cocky, ridiculously sureness of Chicago. We are who y’all we think we are. Even when we wrong, we right. Borderline delusional but the end product so magnificent that it don’t matter what we said or did to get to it. 2a is Common which is imo the real Chicago, or the real Southside. Introspective, soulful, self reflecting, honest. As an adult I can appreciate Common soooo much more. But most of the time I just wanna hear some shit that shouldn’t be possible
3) TI. I got into a LOT of trouble in the military. Way too much and the soundtrack at the time was I’m serious and Trap Music. Bout time Urban Legend dropped I was catching cases like TI lol. He really killed the 808’s and real lyrics. I think Face a doper MC but Face was like a old talking whereas Tip was like a peer. His shit to many really captured the sound of ATL youth better then 3k, or Big Boi, or Luda. He had a misstep with TI vs TIP tried to hard for that commerical pop sound but other than that he been on point. Trap Music almost had me selling dope on base but the market was flooded and I ain’t have the attention span to keep up with it lol
4) This one was tough because outside the above 3 everyone else pretty much gotta show and prove but I’d say Wayne in his prime. I wouldn’t buy a Wayne album TODAY unless he had a single that blew me out the water but 02-10 Wayne? Yeah he was talking that shit. I won’t quote any of his lyrics but yeah, he another game changer imo.
5) this one was tough cause I started thinking about the sleepers, Meth, Busta, Cudi, Lupe, Game, RaKim, KRS,.....like these dudes would round out a top ten cause they spitters but 5 going to Jay. I can’t count on one hand how many times I wanted to see Jay take an L but being lyrical and being in touch with the culture to me almost always has him one step ahead of the game. To me he like a grown mans Game, he can jump on any wave and make it better. Effortlessly. I remember when I heard the Go Hard remix and all I could think was this nigga gotta be stealing bars or something lol. And then going back to when I was hating I HS and such, he zapped out on Vol 2, Roc La, remixes. I still ain’t a fan of RD but overall his catalog hits. I just wish he would have grew up faster if that makes sense
Keep in mind I fuck with the new gen also, Sean my favorite rapper outta Generation Y. Cole dope, K Dot great but overrated, Drake one of the biggest pop stars in the world Wale shit slaps when he not catering to females. Fucks with Asap crew but yeah....I don’t think they can have the same impression on me as the five in my top 5. They can’t recreate my youth, my growing into adulthood, being a father the first time, all that jazz. But they dope and depending on the specific topic enter my 10 somewhere.
And Rae Sremmurd. Idc, them young boys fun as fuck
Last edited:
Solid list and great breakdown, that actually gave me an idea for a thread that i'll make later this week. Good shit.
What's your most fondest memory in your life so far and what's one of your worst memories so far?
What's your most fondest memory in your life so far and what's one of your worst memories so far?
Worst? Probably my mom leaving me with my grandparents. As the baby sibling I held so much resentment for her because of it but I eventually realized I was better for it. And she was around so looking back it wasn’t all that bad. But I can remember the day she dipped like it was this morning and it always leave me angry. Other worst is my Grandfather passing simply because I was too afraid to stay in the room as his left. I could have done a lot of shit differently but I think I should have stayed with him and my fam and grieved with them but instead I dipped and got high. Tried to forget him and it’s so embarrassing so yeah, my worst memories that I’d do over
Best? Man I had so much fun in this life. This might be the first shit I’ve taken serious in a long time lol. Ummm first time getting pussy was the best. Getting good head the first time. My first blunt. My first blunt with my bro. My first drink with my mom and sisters, my oldest daughter being born, stomping thru NYC, stomping thru HI, traveling, my son being born...man I got a lot of good memories b lol. My mom took me to 6 flags once, just me and her. I was too small to ride the rides by myself even though I was 10-12 but I didn’t care. Just being able to chill with her was dope. I don’t know what we talked about but I know I told her everything cause she still bring it up when Im moody at her. I didn’t see her for 4-5 months, well into the school year lol
