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| Dubb Union Interview! |
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| Written by Justin Melo | |
| Friday, 22 August 2008 | |
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Get all the info you need on the sudden name change from Westurn Union to Dubb Union, how it feels to have Snoop Dogg co-signing the group and much more! It wasn't all serious, prepare for a whole lot of comedy in this one!
Q: Raptalk is right here with Dubb Union; let everybody know how you’re each doing right now? Damani: What’s up Raltalk.net? This Damani right here, you know what I’m talking about? Let’s do it! I’m doing fine as ever; I lied, I’m doing as well as I look!
Soopafly: Soopafly, what’s happening with it?
Bad Lucc: I’m right here!
Q: I am going to ask each member a set of questions and then you will pass the phone onto the next member and I will ask them the same set of questions. Damani: (screaming) WOOOOOOO I like it!
Q: (laughs) do we have any takers? Damani: Damani right here, I’ll start us off!
Q: (laughs) Beautiful. Let’s start off discussing the name change. Your fans and readers knew the group as Westurn Union but there has been a sudden name change to Dubb Union; let our readers know the reasoning behind that. Damani: I mean basically we lost out on the bid; I put up $500,000 and they went to $600,000 – they won the rights like that.
Soopafly: They tripped on us. We were getting too big, we’re almost as big as the real Western Union, and they couldn’t take it anymore. We were taking away from there customers. Everything was confusing. Fans were going into the Western Union to get our CD’s instead of sending and receiving money. It was a last minute decision and they had to go ahead and give us the papers. As Damani said, they had just a little bit more money than we did.
Bad Lucc: They got that covered, same old story. Those people called and it’s still Westurn Union; on paper it’s Dubb Union – we had to do it like that.
Q: (Laughs) so was Western Union the company really threatening with a law suit? Damani: Oh yeah, I mean I threatened them back but like I said they put up $100,000 more than me and they won.
Soopafly: Yes, they really were.
Q: (Laughs) you’re a clown Damani, I love it Damani: No, you’re a clown!
Entire group: (laughs)
Q: Let’s get into the new album if we can. Let our readers know what the title of album is in case they’ve been sleeping under a rock and when the project is dropping. Damani: Dubb Union, September 2nd. Snoop Dogg Presents: Dubb Union is dropping September 2nd. That is a Tuesday.
Q: How many tracks can the fans expect to get on the album? Damani: How many is it Soopafly?
Soopafly: its 15 tracks.
Damani: its 15 songs.
Q: Who is lined up to appear on the album in terms of guest appearances? Damani: We got Michael Jackson… Nah, I’m playing!
Entire group: (laughs)
Damani: We got everybody, T-Dough! Nah, basically – we did all the rapping. It’s three of us in the group total – I mean there was no room for the Jay-Z’s; he kept calling and you know (Dr.) Dre wanted to do a verse but we had to keep it uniform, just us three.
Soopafly: we got a couple of guest appearances, not too many. We wanted to keep the album really focused on us and what we’re about. We want the world to start loving us and getting used to Dubb Union.
Q: (Laughs) is there anyone on the hooks? Damani: Yeah definitely – we got T-Pain, Akon – they all together on one song; I’m playing! We got BJ the Chicago Kid on the first single, he sings the hook on “Westurn Union” that’s the name of the song. From there, we got Kurupt throwing a hook for us; one of the most talented MC’s that the rap game has ever seen. We got Kurupt doing a hook – I want to say it again, we got Kurupt the kingpin, Young Gotti. Traci Nelson is on the album who is a very talented hook singer and song writer. It’s basically all about us though. There aren’t a lot of features.
Q: Will Snoop Dogg be appearing? Damani: Snoop Dogg talks on the record, he said some things – he’s there in spirit. He can hear his spirit all through the record.
Q: Who is on the album production wise besides yourself Soopafly? Soopafly: We got a guy named THX; we got another guy named Nominz – Warren Campbell, Hi-Tek, and a couple of others I may have missed, but those are the ones mainly.
Bad Lucc: The level of talent of the producers we had. From someone like Soopafly to Teddy Riley; I know we got to go over the same producers – Soopafly, Teddy Riley, Warren Campbell, Hi-Tek; then you have people that aren’t really well known yet like THX, Nominz – these dudes are incredible. To get their sound, it brings something new because the world hasn’t really heard them yet. That’s what those producers brought; you get to fall in love with a new producer and new sound all over again .They gel well. (Soopa) Fly covered the majority of production because you could imagine the kind of shit you’re going to hear on this album; it’s dope all-around.
Q: Do each of you have a personal favorite track on the album and if so, why? Damani: I love all the songs; I want to add first, I love them. My favorite song on the album is the last one called “Getting Mine.” My second favorite is the intro to the whole album.
Soopafly: I pretty much like them all. The album is pretty much fire all the way through. I like it all the way 1-15 myself.
Bad Lucc: I do have a personal favorite which is “Getting Mine” but that’s only because it touches… I’m proud of the whole album, I love every track pretty much the same. That last track is just so real for me as far as what we’re talking about. When you hear the title, “Getting Mine” it isn’t about going here and just balling – everybody wants to do that, that’s good – but it’s really about our journey of coming up from nothing and trying to get something; that’s very big. It shows people you can get it and be humble about yourself. Why don’t you talk about your journey and what you had to do instead of just coming out talking about how your balling and your rich; let’s talk about how you got it, how’d you get there? So you can drive and motivate somebody coming up after you to do the same thing.
Q: Some motivational music for our readers and your listeners. Bad Lucc: yeah.
Q: How would you describe the overall sound of the album? Damani: It sounds like… I don’t know if you ever heard greatness, but it kind of resembles that. I don’t know if you…
Entire group: (laughs)
Damani: I don’t know if you ever heard greatness, but it’s close to that. It’s somewhere around that area, I don’t know if you’ve been there.
Q: (Laughs) Ok, Ok.
Entire group: (laughs)
Bad Lucc: I just want to say new – I don’t realty get into when people try to categorize the music or what kind of sound it is. I just say new. Three dope dudes with dope production. It’s something new and exciting. Let’s just say that – in this state of hip-hop, it’s very refreshing.
Q: We need something refreshing right now. Bad Lucc: Exactly.
Soopafly: the sound is new, different, and fresh. Kind of like when you first get up out the shower and put your deodorant on and you smell good – that’s how our album is. Some guys albums is you know… right before you get in the shower and you’re kind of musty.
Q: (Laughs) maybe like after a basketball game, it’s a little stinky. Entire group: (laughs)
Soopafly: That’s not our album.
Q: That’s not Dubb Union, that’s other people. Soopafly: Yeah, this is fresh.
Q: (Laughs) tell everybody why they should go out and support the album on September 2nd? Damani: They should go out and support the album because I know y’all are tired of fucking around with these weird ass songs that you have to make up some bullshit ass dance to. We made some dances up to! Support the album because it’s a great body of work. You’re not going to want to pick one song; you’re going to want to download the whole album because it’s banging! It feels classic, it feels like something your going to remember what you were doing when it came out ten years from now.
Q: Soopafly: Because it’s real music and any lover of hip-hop that’s been missing out on real music and probably missing good music. They want to find something that is true to hip-hop and that’s what our album consists of – that’s the main reason they should go out and get it.
Q: Many readers and fans feel like the group has phenomenal chemistry. Why do you feel that the three of you get along so well over the tracks? Damani: We’re good actors! Nah I’m just playing! I think we get along so well because basically, we all know how to rap and we all have similar backgrounds, you know what I’m saying? We’re not from the same part of town; that’s what makes it interesting. We have similar backgrounds and we all can rap. We all have dope imaginations as far as creativity goes. When you put that all together in the pot and then you get the honorable big Snoop Dogg co-signing it and being a big influence to the group with all that chemistry in the room, it’s going to be special.
Soopafly: because we all do heroin (laughs)
Entire group: (laughs).
Q: (laughs) is there any other reason or is it strictly the heroin? Soopafly: (laughs) actually I’m just playing.
Q: (laughs) I know
Entire group: (laughs)
Soopafly: We get along good because even though we’re from different hoods, pretty much all hoods are pretty much the same. Our goals in life are pretty much the same. We’ve learned and took notes from the same forefathers of hip-hop that each other member listens to. We have different ways of pretty much saying the same thing. That’s what the most creative part about us.
Bad Lucc: I really look at it like we’re just three clowns. We’re always on the laughing tip; we’re always on the bright side of something. Since day one, Damani has just been a fool. Every time the nigga say something, it’s funny to me and vice versa, he always laughing at me. I’m goofy as hell – some of the jokes be hella’ childish but they like them; there always laughing at them and shit. Same thing for (Soopafly) Fly, we get around Fly and him and Damani are always going at it. Laughing is very important, being happy is very important. That helps us gel well and makes us want to work together. It doesn’t make it feel like work. It feels like just three niggas hanging out.
Q: You’ve been in this music game for a long time now Soopafly with Snoop Dogg. What made you want to take two new artists like Bad Lucc and Damani and put together this group? Soopafly: Basically because there young and they are very talented. I believe they are on the level of…
*interrupted by Justin of Koch Records*
Soopafly: look at Justin being a professional, talking on our line.
Q: Me or Justin from Koch? Because my name is Justin as well. Entire group: Ohh, the one we know.
Soopafly: the one doing the interview, you cool!
Q: (laughs) Ok, thank you Soopafly. Soopafly: he interrupted me – we gel so well for the reasons mentioned above.
Q: I know Soopafly has been with Snoop Dogg for so long, but you Damani and Bad Lucc, how does it feel to be co-signed by someone of Snoop Dogg’s stature. Damani: It’s dope because when I first started rapping, I’ve always been by myself. It’s kind of lonely out here when you’re trying to get support. Having a follow playa’ like Snoop Dogg who has traveled the world and can relate to me and all that, it’s beautiful to have someone right there who can understand what your going through and then support you at the same time.
Bad Lucc: It feels great. Who other than that would you want backing you? Not even on the west coast, let’s just talk about he’s (Snoop Dogg) the biggest dude in entertainment period. To have him co-signing it is big and it feels good because he was a dude we where looking up to when we where coming up; as a youngin’ before I started rapping, I was loving his music, I knew all the words and everything even as a youngin.’ To be speaking with him today and for him to call me lil’ homie and I call him big homie, that’s dope and real big. It only helps; it’s a big thing.
Q: it sounds like it’s a dream come true type of situation. Bad Lucc: it is a dream come true, that’s exactly what it is. Another one of my dreams is coming true September 2nd – I have an actual, real album coming out. People don’t understand – that’s big. There are millions of rappers out here today rapping and doing their thing but I actually have a real album coming out September 2nd in stores. That’s big, that’s my dream.
Q: There is nothing like your first release either. Bad Lucc: nothing like it. I want the people to hear it and love it and live with it; people don’t make music to live with anymore. Everybody has the songs for the summer or you got the songs that were hot last year; well what album is still hot today that was hot last year? You see what I’m saying? I want to make music that you can live with. That’s what our goal is. We don’t make shit for the radio because of whatever radio is playing at the time. Let’s do the songs that people ride to forever. That’s the kind of music we want to make because that’s the kind of music they were making in the 90s; not to say our music sounds old, we want to make music you can live with and ride with forever. We don’t want a song burning out on you; we don’t want you to feel like “oh I don’t like that song anymore.” We want you to live with the song, that’s the kind of music we’re making.
Q: What’s up next for the group after this? Any upcoming mixtapes or solo albums? Damani: We never stop recording, there’s always projects. Right now we’re doing Dubb Union and September 2nd is the day; we’re re-iterating that. Ofcourse we got other projects coming but Dubb Union, September 2nd!
Q: Go get it, September 2nd! Damani: Oh yeah!
Q: How do you feel about the current state of west coast music? Damani: I think that now we’ve inserted our piece into the puzzle, I think that now it’s ok. It was a little rocky at times as far as mainstream goes, but it’s always been dope artists. But I think now that we are about to hit the scene, I think that it can return to the beginning of the return of its dominance. We just had to put this into the puzzle and now will start seeing what’s going on.
Soopafly: West coast music right now is taking an underground stance - as far as the world in hip-hop, I still feel we got really good about it; we have a lot of young artists that are very much talented alongside ourselves. It’s just not one or two, or three or four, it’s a whole gumbo of new west coast artists that we got that are not just sounding like west coast artists – it’s sounding like young guys who love hip-hop. I feel like in the next couple years, the whole world will get up on what the west coast has been doing, what we’ve been cooking up.
Bad Lucc: shit man, you know what? For real, I’m happy about it. Do you want me to tell you why I’m happy?
Q: Go ahead. Bad Lucc: I feel like what we’re doing, what my group is doing – you can’t do nothing but respect it and hold it up high. It’s almost like Kobe (Bryant) coming in to what people think is a weak team – when Kobe get over there, he can’t do nothing but shine and take that team to the top. That’s what we feel we can do and we’re ready to put the west on our backs and take it to the top. Snoop (Dogg) and (The) Game is doing their thing. We want to ride to the top as a group and show the rest of the world that we’re back with a force. We want everybody to come riding behind us and we’re ready to put the west on our backs and do that again.
Q: do you have any upcoming guest appearances you want to tell the fans about? Damani: We always got something going. You’ll catch me on “The Blueprint 3.” I just sold Jay-z a verse for… I don’t want to say how much, it would probably be un-classy to talk about the amount.
Q: (Laughs) I understand that, it would be un-classy. Damani: yeah!
Q: what about you Soopafly? Soopafly: Yeah, you can. I don’t want to say right now; I like to surprise mutha fucka’s. Sneak in from the back end and slap a nigga in the back of the head!
Bad Lucc: We’re recording tracks all the time. The group is really the main focus; it’s all Dubb Union right now. September 2nd as different music is being made, we’re talking about that theme. This is Dubb Union, we’re a real group and we’re really doing our thing – we’re really mashing and unifying this west and getting some real music to the world, not just west coast – to the world. That’s what it’s all about right now, Dubb union.
Q: let them know to go get that album on September 2nd! Damani: Go pick up this album September 2nd. If you know anything; If you love hip-hop – not just west coast, if you love hip-hop and you love west coast and you love a great put together project – if you’re into music like that, make sure you go get this album. That’s pretty much it. Go get this album.
Soopafly: I can’t re-iterate it enough, please go get the album if you love hip-hop and if you love west coast specifically; go get it – we’ve got music for the whole world. September the 2nd, Dubb Union! Self-titled, debut album, go get it!
Bad Lucc: I think you just need something new. Like I said before, it’s an album to live with. Why not pop something in and never take it out? Don’t pop it in for that one song or you like the single – why don’t you ride to the album? A lot of people can’t ride back from work to home to one album. You used to be able to do that – you know what I mean?
Q: I know exactly what you mean and agree. Bad Lucc: that’s why we’re here and that’s what we’re here for. We’re ready to take this responsibility and make this music to live with and make music… everybody want to say an album is a classic. An album will come out and right away people call it classic; how the fuck you know? It ain’t been out ten years. But we make the music where hopefully ten years later, people will still be riding with it; that’s the kind of music we’re making.
Q: Is the group going on a tour anytime soon? Soopafly: hell yeah we is.
Q: Give us the details. Soopafly: first of all, get at us on the myspace www.myspace.com/westurnunion. You will have all the information there. Other than that, we’re working strong as we speak to get a little West Fest pt.2 like we did earlier this year. It was a great success which we are trying to follow up with part two of the west fest. We’re trying to get it crackin’ the same way.
Q: Ok and you guys better come to Toronto, Canada this time so I can check it out! (Laughs) Soopafly: you have to invite us out there! Will be there; will do that, hook it up!
Q: do the three of you have any last additional words for our readers before I let the each of you go? Damani: tell all your girl cousins to buy our new album September 2nd!
Q: (Laughs) I’m going to tell all of my female cousins that, I promise you Damani! Entire group: (laughs)
Damani: there it is!
Q: (Laughs) I got a lot of them too so that’ll be a lot of copies right there! Damani: (laughs)
Q: Take care boys and best of luck with the album. Entire group: thank you.
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