Bishop Lamont Part 1 & 2 Interview With XXLMag.com (Plus Additional Raptalk Bonus Q & A Session)

Our own Styles hooked up with Aftermath young star Bishop Lamont for a special two part interview with XXLMag.com, the online magazine for the Leading Hip Hop publication XXL.  

Also, we have a special Q & A session exclusively for Raptalk.net with Bishop Lamont. The interview with XXL was so big that it had to be made in to two parts with many questions and answers left out! So we have compiled the extra questions and answers for all of you visitors of Raptalk.net

To read the Interview on XXLmag.com, use the links below:

Bishop Lamont Interview Part 1:  http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=16530

Bishop Lamont Interview Part 2: http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=16590

Below is the Raptalk Exclusive Q & A: (Interview by Styles)

So Quik wanted to sign you? Tell us about that.

Bishop: Fuzzy [from Power 106] hooked me up with him back in the day and we took a ride in his new ride over off of Ventura Blvd. He told me to pop my CD in so he could see if it was crackin’ or not. I played one song and Quik told me, “I don’t even have to hear any more” because he was so impressed. That’s my uncle man and of course he is doing something for my new album. He’s always there to give advice and just to vibe with. And Daz too! He’s the same way. I used to work for DPG Recordz out in Mission Viejo, CA. Those two were the first cats interested in me.

You did a song earlier this year with Damizza called “A View From The Top” where you sounded very upset about your dealings with other rappers here on the West Coast. What was that all about?

Bishop: If I sounded pissed then you definitely got the message (laughs). At the end of the day you learn that you can only help people so much. If you help people and they are not helping themselves then you are fucking yourself in the long run. I had a line in that song about feeding niggas and them not even saying Grace! That’s the greatest of all disrespect that you can have when people can’t praise God for the blessings that they receive. That’s when you know that you are dealing with fucked up individuals. Those cats will remain nameless but to sum it up, a lot of cats that I took in were spies and agents. They are gypsies. I call them “gypsy rappers.” They just hop from clique to clique. They are not sincere and they are not loyal. Me? What you see is what you get. What I say is what I do. A lot of rappers get at me because they want to meet Dre or they want to get beats. They are not sincere and that’s what that song was really about. It was about helping people that can’t be helped and being a good person fucking with losers. They can’t say “thank you” or “pay it forward.” That is my motto, “Pay It Forward” just like the movie. My squadron is a lot lighter now. I had to trim a lot of fat. God is good to me though because he gave me that blessing before my album debuted. I had a gang of wack ass niggas, leeches and sucka-ass bitches that I got rid of. They should have waited a little longer before they took their masks off (laughs).

You also have your own label called Diocese. Tell us about that…

Bishop: Dre blessed me with an opportunity to do the same thing that he’s been able to do, that 50 has been able to do, you know what I’m saying? It’s not just about me but also about bringing more talent to the forefront.

Do you already have artists under that label?

Bishop: I’ve got a few cats that I am working with, some of the homies. If I give you the handshake and tell you that we’re rollin’ then we are rollin’. I’ve got Mike Anthony, Taje’, Indef, and Chevy Jones. Me and Mykestro are working on something. We are even doing alternative stuff on some Rock shit. If I find a dope ass Country group, I don’t give a fuck (laughs). It’s about dope ass music. I love all kinds of music and it’s about bringing dope musicians to the forefront. Dope MC’s, dope singers, dope producers.

Will we ever see Bishop Lamont the producer?

Bishop: Yes! I’ve done that. I’ve already been that. That’s how I started. I’ve always had an ear for music just by growing up playing records. I’ve been at the church and the family parties hearing the music. Just hearing The Gap Band, Sly & The Family Stone, Issac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield, you start to get the ear for the music. When I didn’t have producers first starting out, I had to make my own beats. I got an MPC 2000 and keyboards and I was making my own beats originally. I mean, you can’t rap over instrumentals forever. Then I hooked up with other producers and I kind of steered to the back but sometimes I do grab vinyl and tell them that I want to flip this and get my Puff Daddy on. I really try to leave that alone though so I can focus on my craft as being an artist and a writer. Then I will fuck around and be Quincy Jones later.

A lot of people in different regions over the years have thought that the West has been weak lyrically.

Bishop: Lyrics have always been here. Kurupt has been doing it. Threat has been doing that. The Freestyle Fellowship and Souls of Mischief too. I guess at that point in the game, labels weren’t trying to hear it unless it was only Snoop or anything out of Dre’s camp. Outside of that, they couldn’t see it! You’ve got New York cats that have always been able to MC but even now they are gangbanging. But here on the West, niggas have been bustin’ and that’s always bugged me out when people haven’t realized that. Dilated People’s wasn’t bustin’? Jurassic 5 don’t bust? Up in the Bay you’ve got The Hieroglyphics and Del The Funkee Homosapien. What about Ras Kass and Saafir? Those dudes are the epitome of being MC‘s. What about Tha Alkaholiks? Don’t even get me started on what they came with! What about King T and Xzibit? You are going to tell me that Crooked I ain’t one of the most amazing things that you have ever heard?

So did you get Dre working out? I know that you are a work out freak and everybody keeps telling me how you make them go to the gym with you.

Bishop: I am going to take about half of that credit. When he was about to first sign me, he had already started working out but when I came in he seen a nigga and was like, “Oh you work out, huh?” Right at that moment I could see the competition thing already going. Busta Rhymes can also second that story too because me and Busta get down. He can back my story.  

I bet you’ve got the “distant” cousins and longtime friends coming out of the wood-works now that you are an artist signed to a major label…

Bishop: A nigga had the nerve to call me the other day, he’s someone that I went to high school with and haven’t spoken to in years. He was like, “Yo! You had a birthday party and you didn’t invite me! You’ve got to let me know when you are doing things!” I’m like, “Who the fuck are you? If I wasn’t rapping, you wouldn’t give a fuck about me or what the fuck I am doing!” I’ve got seven-something dozen cousins now too (laughs).

Do they hit you up for money?

Bishop: (laughs) C’mon man, you already know! I also get a lot of the “Take my demo to Dre.” I also get the, “You need to introduce me to Dr. Dre.” Then there is, “You need to do a song with me.” When I was struggling nobody gave a fuck about me. That’s the stuff people need to realize that I deal with everyday. That’s my only one issue with all of this. Everything else I love.

You doing anything with any of the other Aftermath/Shady/Interscope members?

Bishop: [Tony] Yayo is my big brother. So is 50 Cent, Whoo-Kid, Busta Rhymes. We really are all family. 50 and Sha-Money was looking out for me before I was signed to Aftermath. That’s nothing new. 50 is on tour right now but I am sure that when he gets back we will do something.

Were you ever going to be a G-G-G-G-G Unit? [laughs]

Bishop: [laughs] Naw, I was never going to be in G-Unit. But it is a family oriented situation and not just something where we are on the same label so we have to do something together.

What’s up with you messing’ with The Shady One now?

Bishop: That’s all thanks to Stat Quo and Dre. Em is a great dude especially with all of the bullshit that he’s been through. Denaun Porter would always look out for me even before I was signed. I used to always hit the video sets and they would bless me. Whenever I saw Proof, he would get my CD’s and treat me like I was a rap star. All of the D-12 niggas would show me love, so it’s only right about me and Em.

As far as the future of the West Coast goes, it looks like You and Glasses Malone are in the best positions to do something major…

Bishop: The West Coast has always been alive but it’s now about more people being responsible and growing up and wanting to see us thrive as a community, instead of just being individuals. If Bishop is poppin’ then you know that the West Coast is poppin’. But not just the West Coast, but Hip Hop is poppin’. If it was just the West Coast then I wouldn’t be doing shit with Detroit or all of the niggas in the T Dot O, shout out to Kardinal. I got my niggas in the South and out in North Carolina like the Justice League. Then I have my niggas in New York. It’s about real hip hop and being a real community that sees the bigger picture of making shit thrive. It’s about opening doors instead of shutting the door behind you because you are selfish and stingy. But yeah going back to your question, Glasses does have a dope album that’s about to come out too.

Let me just say this… Stop being a hater. You ain’t the only MC, the only singer or producer. When you hear other fresh people, give them their props. When you hear wack people, don’t give them their props. Stop the dick-ryding, but also give niggas their proper respect. It’s alright to shout other people out in your interviews. Stop trying to make it all about you. It takes more than one motherfucker to make it. Even Jesus had help and we aren’t shit compared to Jesus, so what makes you think that you are super-funky-fresh? That’s what it comes down to. The only way the West Coast is going to pop is if the West Coast supports the West Coast artists to make it pop. We shouldn’t have to rely on anybody outside to feel this shit when it should be felt at home first. You are right here in the backyard. You should already be on this shit. So let’s be about support.