Raptalk.net had the opportunity to hook up with former LA Confidential Records (formerly home to Knoc-turn'al & Slip Capone) Time Bomb to catch up on a number of things. Readers and fans will certainly remember Time Bomb from his guest appearance on the Dr. Dre classic album, "2001."  We discuss (in detail) how it was to work on that project and sum up his general feelings on that nicely.

We also talk about what happened over at LAC Records and what he has been up to since.

Enjoy! 

Q: We’re here with Time Bomb; it’s been a minute since the hip-hop world last heard from you, so start us off by letting our readers know how you’re doing?

I’m cool, just trying to stay out of jail. Trying to dress for less. That’s about it, you feel me?

Q: How did you hook up with LA Confidential Records?

I was out in Atlanta fucking with Puffy (Diddy) and shit. LA Confidential hit me up like “man you from the west, you pose’ to be fucking with west side niggas.” I was really from the block and I was already feeling convicted from being on the east coast. I was fairly new to the game and I wanted to ride with some west niggas; I was representing the west to the fullest. Those niggas had cake so I fucked with him. I left Atlanta and never came back; signed to LA Confidential.

Q: What was it about LA Confidential that made you decide to sign with them?

We were independent. We were all together. It was all cats from Los Angeles. We all represented the same thing and were doing the same thing. I knew it was a place I could come. Slip (Capone) is from my hood and I knew I could bring him with us and snatch him off the block with me. We just went from there.

Q: So you had already known Slip before LA Confidential?
Slip (Capone)? Since 5^th grade. Slip (Capone) was the only nigga in the hood that was mixed with white and black. This nigga was mixed with English, his momma spoke English and she moved into the hood. That lil’ nigga was just bad as fuck since 4^th grade, just gang banging. Even before we were gang banging, Slip (Capone) was gang banging. He just wanted to be that since way back then, 3^rd or 4^th grade.

Q: What was LA Confidential’s initial reaction when you brought Slip through?

They were glad to have him. Slip (Capone) is hot; he’s harder than most of these cats. His freestyles were hotter than Kurupt’s back then. When Kurupt’s freestyles were hot, Slip would give him a run for his money. They were pretty much glad I brought him.

Q: What was the chemistry like when the two of you began recording tracks with the rest of the LAC crew?

It was cool but it was competitive. Motherfuckers used to compete because everyone wanted their own album to come out first. It was a cool competitiveness, but it wasn’t always a friendly competitiveness. Sometimes motherfuckers would be in too much competitiveness.

Q: Are you speaking about anyone in particular?

Me, Knoc-turn’al; I mean we was all homies. We stayed in the same spot, just regular shit you go through with your homies. I ain’t going to pump it up like it was no beef or some shit, it was just regular shit that you go through with your homies, competitive. Motherfuckers think about themselves first most of the time.

Q: Did you ever record any albums while on LAC?

I did a gang of songs. We were really working on the Knoc-turn’al album the whole time. All the shit that I did was hot or that I rapped on at the time, it went to Knoc-turn’al for his album. That company basically crashed before I got a chance to make a full album.

Q: But you do have a gang of songs that you recorded while at LAC?
Yeah, they got a gang of my shit over there.

Q: You don’t have the material yourself?

Nah, I went to jail. I can’t even lie; I was going to jail almost every other day.

Q: Do you think we will ever get to hear that stuff?

Nah, I wouldn’t put shit from way back then out now. I don’t think it would be relevant. Plus my style is different now.

Q: What do you think went wrong at LAC?

I really feel that our ego was too big at sometimes at LA Confidential. That’s including the people that could have helped us. Shit just got twisted. I can’t say too much about that issue.

Q: How did you end up getting on the Dr. Dre “2001” album? Was it Knoc-turn’al that introduced you to Dre?

Nah, it was over there that I met Knoc-turn’al.

Q: Oh, OK.

I was fucking with a cat by the name of Mark Gordon. I did a three song demo. This was when I first got in the game. I was just fucking around in the studio and did a three song demo and that three song demo went all the way to New York to Puffy (Diddy) and shit. Puffy sent for me and shit and I went out there to New York fucking with them. I then flew to Atlanta and I was fucking with every body in the game. This was around 1999. I was still bad as fuck, going to jail every other day.

I end up meeting (Dr.) Dre in a studio and he bought a song off me from my three song demo. He paid me $4500 for it to go on the Chronic 2001; it didn’t make the cut, but he paid me for it. I was just freestyling in my head and shit. Dre was like “ey, what’s that shit you got going on there?” Dre put on the beat to “Some L.A. Niggaz” and I put my freestyle over it when I walked in. That’s where that pause came in every time the beat stop; every body followed me with that shit and made the hook. The one song I did for the Chronic 2001 made the album. Dre had like eighty tracks to pick from. I am very grateful it made the album.

Q: Was it that freestyle that made him want you on the album?

Nah, he already wanted me on the album. Dre tried to sign me but I was already signed to Puff’s road manager with Finish Line. I was already signed there so I couldn’t sign to Dre; he still wanted me to do some shit with him.

Q: Take us back to those recording sessions for “2001.” Do you have any particular memories that stand out in your mind?

We were all meeting for the first time; me, Xzibit, King Tee, Hittman and so on. It was basically competition. Everybody was just sitting around waiting for their turn to rap over one of Dre’s hot beats. Any time he put any beat on; we put the pens to the pad. He’d put on a beat for five minutes, we all had a song written for it; he’d take that beat off and put on another, we’d do the same thing for that next beat. We hung around and wasn’t really tripping. We all ended up hopping on some hot shit. We were battling each other at first on “L.A. Niggaz” and then decided to make a song for it.

Q: A lot of people describe those recording sessions as one big family.

Dre never made us feel like our shit wasn’t hot. He always complimented your shit. Even if something was wrong, he never made you nervous in the studio, every thing was always perfectly comfortable; I’m saying us as MC’s would battle each other when we first met, but we was giving each other love over the battle. We all knew we were hot MC’s. It was the best time I ever had recording; it was the most comfortable I’ve ever felt.

Q: Have you had any recent contact with Dr. Dre or Knoc-turn’al?

 Not since I’ve been out of jail. I’ve been hearing that some cats are looking for me. I’m not doing all that extra shit like going out of town; I have to spend time with my kids. If I do see them though, it’s all love, no love lost; they the homies right there.

Q: So you’re still recording music, just in LA though?

Yeah, just in LA right now.

Q: Tell us about the music you’re working on.

I’m really trying to write for R&B artists. Something most people that don’t know about me are I started writing for R&B groups and I can sing a little bit. My R&B is compared to Musiq Soulchild, Calvin Richardson and Stevie Wonder – that’s the type of shit I like. I am looking for an R&B group to sing some of these songs. Everyone I run these songs across think it’s hot; hopefully I can rap on some of that shit, it’s hot though.

I got some other shit I’m working on as far as rap. I’m trying to bring hip-hop back and bring it to a different level; get up off of that bling-bling shit niggas be on; that wack shit.

Q: Are you working on any albums or mixtapes? Or are you just ghost writing?

You are going to hear an album and a mixtape. When you do hear it, you’ll hear the difference. It’s going to be some Kanye West & Outkast shit. It’s not going to be any regular shit you hear.

Q: so you’ve switched up your style a bit?

My style was always the same, I switched it for Dre. This is what got me in the game. You could hear my style on my demo.

Q: What’s your label situation like?
I haven’t even been in the game since LA Confidential folded. I’m doing my own thing. I have a pretty nice studio I could go to that we built a while back. Right now I’m just working, trying to feed the kids. I am eventually going to get back in the studio; I have all the connections I need; there’s no love lost. I got a connect at Def Jam. I’m going to make it happen by the end of this year most likely.

Q: You have everything you need, you don’t need the label.

Yeah, definitely. I get beats for free from cats. I don’t pay for beats, none of that shit. I get hot shit for free. S-Class, don’t know if you’ve heard of him? S-Dog?

Q: I remember S-Dog; he was down with LA Confidential as well.

Yeah. All kinds of cats though. I get my all shit free, why would I fuck with these cats? Its quality shit as well.

Q: Do you have any last words for the fans before I let you go?
Let niggas know that if you’re going to try and do this shit, do it properly. Get your music missed and mastered and get yourself a proper engineer to make it sound clear; we don’t want none of that wack shit. Don’t put any wack shit on the streets to make a quick buck. Take pride in your shit; make it hot so we can bump it. We don’t want to hear that bullshit. Never make it wack shit. Get a good engineer to make it sound clear. That’s what people like Dre has on us. We have good music in the streets but we don’t have access to good engineers to make it sound clear and to mix it perfectly, separate the beat from the rhyme. That’s the only advice I can give to cats who are trying to make it independently.

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