ThaFormula.com - How hard is it to keep that real hip-hop sound when you see everybody doing the same thing? Artists that used to do real hip-hop and shit like that, switching up and becoming bounce rappaz?

Evidence - The dope thing for us is we go on the road a lot and tour and keep to our own environment. We don't really uh, I listen to the radio and I watch MTV too because it's good to know what's out there even if it's not what your doing. You can always learn from what someone else is doing whether you like it or don't. I value all kind of stuff. Some R&B stuff that might be considered wack to somebody or maybe even to me I listen to for production qualities or how the mix was or how the vocals are. You can always make the best of something, so it's like we listen to what's out there but we really just stay with what we do.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think the chemistry will ever change?

Evidence - I'm a fan of A Tribe Called Quest, like their first and second records. If you look at the date the first one was done in '90 or '91, and the next one was done in '91 or '92. It was like they just kept going right there, and that's what's happening with Dilated. Me, Iriscience and Babu chill on a regular basis, and because of that it's not like we got to get reacquainted with each other when we try to get back in the studio and pretend were friends. This whole thing is a working relationship. We weren't friends before music, we met to do music. So it's like we all have separate lives, but when we come together were Dilated Peoples.

ThaFormula.com - So no one should be expecting a breakup ever huh?

Evidence - I mean, you are gonna see solo stuff because it's only right, but it's always gonna have the Dilated stamp on it and were always gonna be touring together and shit like that.

ThaFormula.com - Are you planning on coming with a solo album or anything like that?

Evidence - Yeah, for sure. No doubt?

ThaFormula.com - Did you do a lot of production this time around?

Evidence - I didn't do as much production as people probably expect just because I'm the type to really feel what's best for what. I'm not caught up on any ego type thing. With Babu doin' it, having Alchemist, Joey Chavez, all my friends really becoming top notch producers, it would be really stupid of me to just hog the record.

ThaFormula.com - Yeah, no doubt about that. Babu, Alchemist, and Chavez are definitely top notch producers.

Evidence - Also, I started making beats for our group well into our group, so like the way our group was created was we always got beat tapes from other people. We weren't one of those groups that just started of as a self-sufficient unit. That became that later. We are still accustomed to listening to other people's beats. We never really turn beat tapes away or anything.

ThaFormula.Com - How many tracks did you lay down for the album?

Evidence - I got four hot joints on there, you know what I'm sayin'? I made sure that what I laid down was hot. Alchemist got three, Joey got three. It's all balanced. Babu got three. We all kind of just took an equal amount this time.

ThaFormula.com - Has Rakka ever laid down any tracks?

Evidence - I mean that dude can play drums for real man, so you know it's probably in his nature since hip hop is all about the drum beat. I don't know if he actually sits down with the MPC too much or the SP12 or whatever, but that's a funky cat.

ThaFormula.com - What's your opinion on all this rap about bouncin' and Ice medallions?.

Evidence - I mean that's hip-hop. What can I tell you that's hip-hop. Hip-hop used to be about gold chains, and now it's about platinum chains. It's just progressing as time goes on. Next year it will probably be about titanium chains or whatever the hell is going on. Then it will go from guns to Bazookas or whatever. But that's just the nature of things. It's gonna go that way and there is nothing wrong with rocking a gold chain. Some of my favorite rappers wear a gold chain. That's dope. It's just how you carry yourself and what you do. There is nothing wrong with driving a nice car and having a nice home but it's like are you here to talk about it or are you here to do something else about it. I mean you can have that, but don't forget your purpose and why you're here.

ThaFormula.com - Do you consider an artist like Nelly real hip-hop?

Evidence - I mean it's all rap music. Everything is all rap music. Hip-hop is everything. Rap music is just one aspect. They do rap music, I do rap music. It's just different.

ThaFormula.Com - Do you thing a lot of mc's are using being underground as an excuse for there wackness?

Evidence - It's 50/50 and maybe even 60/40. People using it as an excuse. A lot of people just don't have skills or haven't honed their skills to know how to make a beat sharp, or how to make their vocals sit right in the track or polish their shit or perfect song writing, or even perfect writing a verse or hitting a beat because they can't do it. They are underground. So that's half of it or 60 percent of it and the other percent who just doesn't have friends. There is always gonna be some kid in a bedroom who's better then you are watching more. It's just that he doesn't know how to hustle his shit right or he's to shy or this or that. It's a lot about skills, but it's what you do with it. A lot of underground kids just haven't found the outlet yet. But I think a lot of kids will find it like we did.

ThaFormula.com - What exactly are you man? A lot of people think that you are White, Hispanic, or Italian. What exactly is your nationality?

Evidence - I don't know. It's kind of cool being a mystery I guess, now that everyone wants to know. Let's just leave it at that. I'll just say you named some stuff though (Laughs). Your right on buddy.

ThaFormula.com - That's a question that gets asked a lot?

Evidence - For real.

ThaFormula.com - Yeah.

Evidence - I have different things in me, but I was raised by one person in my family and that's what I consider myself.

ThaFormula.Com - Well I see who you kick it with, so that pretty much answers the question for me. So what is the ultimate goal or purpose of Dilated Peoples?

Evidence - It's just to build what we already have started. When we got into this game we said what we wanted to do and we looked at people that we looked up to that had careers that were older in this game and still were here not just out of here and said that's what we wanna do. So we're doing it. It's funny though because we're the actual only people who are sticking to our plan. Everyone else around us gets itchy. From our friends, to our label and everyone else. They're like "Yo you guys should do this or that" and were like "Yo remember that plan we talked about", were still sticking to that. You know what I mean. Everything is growing. More people come to the show then they did last year. We sold more records then we did the year before. We got on TV for the first time last year, so you know it's a growing period. Not everything happens overnight.

ThaFormula.Com - How are you guys livin' man. Are you livin' comfortably off of this deal. What is everything you guys hoped for?

Evidence - I'm not paid off of Dilated Peoples directly as sellin' records. We sold sufficient enough to keep it going but were not super paid off of that. But there is always other things that you can work to your advantage off of just havin' that. So through my production, shows, other hustles and what not. I'm livin' better then I have ever been livin' before but I'm still maintaining the hunger of what I need to keep going. I got bills just like everybody else.

ThaFormula.com - But I mean you live good enough to where you don't have to get a 9 to 5 right?

Evidence - Oh no fuck that. This is hip-hop. Believe me though, I work hard. I wanna find somebody that works as much as me. This year were gonna really look to hit the road a lot and be gone for a good portion of the year. So were all just keepin' our feet sunk into the ground right now and just getting ready.

ThaFormula.com - If a strugglin' artist approached you about trying to get you on his single or album, what would you say to him man?

Evidence - Let me hear it. It happens all the time and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I mean I'm always open to listen.

ThaFormula.com - It seems like everybody nowadays wants to be a rapper or producer. Do you think that that is a good thing?

Evidence - Yeah I do. I mean it's better then doing some other shit right. If you can get paid off of doing rappin' and it's really what you believe in then that's dope too. There are people in different situations. Some people really don't have shit and rappin' is a way for them to get out of things. They could be doing some violent shit or some weak shit but instead they are rappin', making money touring, meeting people, learning other peoples customs culture or what not. That's the shit. But then there is some people who wanna be famous, or wanna get pussy, or wanna do this, so they wanna rap and if you rap because of ulterior motives, then it's not truly what you love and that's weak. The true people who do it shouldn't expect money off of it. They should just do it, and if the money comes they should be grateful.

ThaFormula.com - So what's your reason for doing hip-hop Ev?

Evidence - Because I love it. It's just been my life that's it. Play baseball and listen to music. Those are my two dreams. Music won so that's it.

ThaFormula.com - So it ain't always about the money?

Evidence - Like I said, I got bills to pay, so if I'm not gonna go live a 9 to 5 job, I wake up and make beats before everybody else is up going to their job, I'm doing mine and I deserve that.. Anything you do you know from actions come reactions. So if you put in the work, you deserve to get it out, but it's through hard work, not just sitting around and saying I rap.

ThaFormula.Com - A lot of heads say hip-hop is wack now. Do you believe that, or what do you see is the worst thing in hip-hop? The thing that bothers you the most?

Evidence - Record companies and programmers. The bigger picture, the money, you know the finance of the game, because there is so many different avenues of rap music and the kind that's more polished or whatever isn't played enough. There should be at least some form of balance. The big money dictates that so that's what I don't like about rap. There is just as much underground rap as there is commercial rap and there is just as much sideways rap as there is the other sideways rap. It's just some stuff gets light because of certain political reasons.

ThaFormula.com - How much do you think the fans never get to see as far as what goes on behind the scenes?

Evidence - A whole lot. I've been in the game ten years and I'm just learning about a lot of shit that is real foul in the game. There is a reason why rappers make songs about A&R's and record labels. It's not just like well I did my girl song, I have to have my DJ song and my anti label song. It's not like that. That's a real issue that's foul when you realize that people are reaping serious dough off of your hard-earned sweat. It's ill at the end of the day. That's why you got to give props to as much as people wanna front on artists like Jay-Z or Master P or whatever. It's like these people own their record companies. The royalties they see off their records is what everyone should be seeing. They are doing it right officially. So at least they are setting an example for a lot of people to be self-sufficient. Do it yourself.

ThaFormula.Com - What does an artist usually see as far as royalties?

Evidence - Pennies. From an album the sold for fuckin' 20 dollars or 14 dollars? Four artists can share a dollar sometimes. Understand that all artists who are on record companies are not all rich. A lot of those cars are rentals!

ThaFormula.com - Well thanks for taking the time out.

Evidence - Yeah man. Thank You.

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