thaFormula.com - How did the "New East" showcase end up going man?

DJ Kay Slay - I was fascinated at the job Littles put together. Everybody really respected one another. It wasn't no problems or nothing. It just showed that the East Coast never went nowhere just like I always say. It's just some of the powers up don't support the up and coming like other regions support their up and coming. But on some underground shit, that was the biggest event there has been in a while here.

thaFormula.com - Why do you think that the radio and the industry don't want to make room for a lot of these new up and coming artists?

DJ Kay Slay - It's just a different side of the game right now. A lot of muthafuckas got it confused with Hip-Hop, rap and entertainment. This ain't no hate either. You can challenge it if you wanna challenge it. I'm the nigga to talk to 'cause I'm Hip-Hop. A lot of them cats you see on TV is entertainers that's doing the dances with the raps. They are entertainers okay. Nas is a rapper. A lot of people are getting it mixed up when he says "Hip-Hop is Dead" or shit like that. Nas is coming from the true lyricist and the true Hip-Hop angle. A lot of shit that is being portrayed as Hip-Hop is not. Hip-Hop is 360 degrees of the game. You got lyricism, story tellin', droppin' knowledge, science for the kids, education, and then you can bring it back around to the club joint. 360 degrees, how many rappers are doing that right now? Nas ain't saying that "Hip-Hop is Dead" because the South is on more videos and more radio then the North, he's saying that it ain't Hip-Hop that is going on right now. Right now we are getting more of the drug ;dealer's guide for the kids then anything else.

thaFormula.com - Why do you feel that the South rappers were the first to get really pissed about that (Nas) title though?

DJ Kay Slay - Because I think a lot of them muthafuckas know that they are not Hip-Hop (laughs). First and foremost everybody must know that I got love for the South. Before they was poppin', I had Three-Six Mafia on my first single. That was on my album 3 years ago before they blew up. I have always supported T.I. since day one. Eightball and Ludacris, etc. have got love shown. But a fact is a fact, everybody down there ain't lyricists. Some niggaz make good music, some of them are Hip-Hop. Three-Six Mafia is Hip-Hop. UGK is Hip-Hop. Scarface, Ludacris, Eightball & MJG is Hip-Hop. There is a lot more and please don't say I'm dissin' you if I didn't mention your name. But there is a lot of muthafuckas that ain't Hip-Hop that are getting spins and Nas is just bringing that shit to life. Basically saying, at the end of the day Hip-Hop is dead.

thaFormula.com - Nas recently said that he saw a lot of artists and people furious when he squashed his beef with Jay-Z, did you see that?

DJ Kay Slay - I did see it. Me myself I ain't gonna lie, I was kind of confused with that move. I just felt like Nas was his own entity. It's a double edge sword. It's good for the game, but I just think they both went at each other to hard to be rubbing shoulders like that again. That's just me. On some grown man shit, both of them really got personal. But for them to make that move is big.

thaFormula.com - It seems like things are changing in Hip-Hop right now. The South had a huge run, but it the way things have been going recently it looks like it's coming to an end…

DJ Kay Slay - It's over. On the real check the numbers right. I got good relationships with a lot of brothas from the South, but I don't wanna name how many of them niggaz albums came out and did not go platinum. Albums that were bricks. Nobody speaks about this shit. Like Ying Yang Twins, I like them dudes. They did some shit like 20 something thousand their first week. This is a group that just went double platinum. I could sit here and name some muthafuckas but then I don't want to put anybody on blast and hurt niggaz egos cause a lot of people are respected and looked up to. Then they are gonna twist my words and say Slay is shitting on them. What I am gonna tell you is to check the Soundscan. 8 out of 10 rappers in the South right now didn't sell no records and their album just dropped within the last 4 months. Ain't go Gold either. So if you look at the state of the game right now, I think the East is kind of edging. So when niggaz be talking that East Coast fell off, nah man ya'll niggaz ain't checkin' no fuckin' numbers son. Everybody is suffering right now. The whole record industry is fucked up right now. Nobody is fully winning right now. Let's put this shit in the proper perspective. 50 Cent about to drop his album and he's gonna do his numbers, Papoose gonna do his numbers. The way the game is right now, it's balanced if you ask me. This is because everything evolves 360 degrees man. These are the laws of the universe.

thaFormula.com - For a minute though it looked like the South would be completely running things forever.

DJ Kay Slay - But the run was on the radio and on TV. Check them numbers man. You know, I knew that the run was pretty much over for the South or was about to come to a halt, when Outkast didn't go Gold. Outkast are some real creative artists. They are Hip-Hop. They've been on the stage with Raekwon. Them niggaz done touched every angle and that's what I'm talking about. How many artists in the South have done what Outkast has done? Like from different angles and shit?

thaFormula.com - Do you think that you have played a big part in keeping the East going through the hard times?

DJ Kay Slay - I'm the type of dude that no matter where something is going on or how it is poppin', I always support them, but I keep my flag up from where the fuck I'm from first. Niggaz start shitting, I'm always gonna bang back and I'm gonna try to keep everything where it's supposed to be. I definitely thing I'm supportive in that movement because I ain't never changed hats.

thaFormula.com - I saw that with how you kept grinding with Papoose and sticking with that NY flavor, while a lot of dudes basically just turned into Southern rappers?

DJ Kay Slay - Yeah, muthafuckas done switched up man. I told Papoose man. "We gonna stay on New York beats and you cannot rap on it the way they rap unless it's one of them on a track with you and you are being competitive." We can't do what they do, that just ain't us.

thaFormula.com - Did it bother you to see so many artists switching up?

DJ Kay Slay - That was bothering me, but I knew we had some of the fathers in this shit that wasn't. Jay-Z was staying New York, Nas was staying New York, 50 Cent was staying New York. The strong elements in New York were standing firm.

thaFormula.com - How do you look back at the movie "Style Wars" so many years later man, knowing you were one of the main characters in such a historical film?

DJ Kay Slay - I'm Hip-Hop man. That's how I look at it. Can't nobody challenge me in that and that's why I can pop my shit about Hip-Hop. I was like 16 years old in Hip-Hop documentaries man back in 1981. If you look at it, you see me on the subway as a graffiti artist, but I'm also on the subway platform rappin' with my man. I was also Djing at the same time. So I lived this and watched it come into existence. Alot of people haven't seen it. I remember when it was disco and disco evolved into Hip-Hop.

thaFormula.com - How much of an impact did the felony possession indictment have on what you chose to do next with your life as a young man?

DJ Kay Slay - When I got locked up and started to think of everything my mother and my grandparents tried to do for me, and how they worked so I could do the right thing. It felt almost like I was saying fuck them. When you're locked up you have all the time in the world to think and I just started thinking about different things. You know I used to smoke mad dust, sniffed coke, robberies, hustling, and just one of them wild niggaz out in the street. So when my mind started clearing up and I started thinking, I started manifesting the knowledge that I had when I was younger. I was thinking I ain't no savage and my mind really cleared up. I remember I seen Kid Capri's name up in lights and other DJ's and thinking that these niggaz is getting paid for this shit now. I helped start this shit right here. I Dj's out in the park at Zulu nation anniversaries and shit like that. That's when my mind shifted off of all the negativity and came back on the game. One thing I seen that was missin' from the game, was that alot of these DJ's wasn't representing the street. They was reppin', but they was not representing the streets. So that's the angle that I grabbed a hold of and brought to the game.

thaFormula.com - What was your first break in this business man and what was it?

DJ Kay Slay - Well, I did it little by little man. I would DJ parties, started doing the mix tapes. My man Demo persuaded me to do the mix tapes. We made a little series named "Warning" that was poppin' off real hard in Harlem and the Bronx. Then being that I was an older dude, I would make slow jams and I was doing reggae joints. A lot of niggaz didn't know that I was making blend tapes and my blend tapes was bananas. I was covering all angles of it. I wasn't really into the straight exclusive joints. It would be a half exclusive tape and the other half would be a blend 'cause I was just like a different type of dude. I think the best thing that happened though was when Clue started the exclusive game. I just started getting so many connections with people that had their hands on music that was unreleased and that was it.

thaFormula.com - Now you broke "Ether" from Jay-Z on the streets in 2001. Was that a big moment in your career DJ wise as far as everyone hitting you up after that?

DJ Kay Slay - In 2001 I was already the go to guy when it came to the beef records. The impact with that was that when I got the record, the way I did it on the mix tape and the fact that I wasn't afraid to go with the underdog on the situation is what did it for me. I was on that tape like, "Uh Oh, it looks like Nas is coming back y'all." I'm on the air pluggin' this shit like, "this fuckin' record is crazy." I remember when I got the record. I was like whatever about it when they told me Nas was killin' Jay on this record. I threw that shit on and heard the first verse and was like "alright it's cool." I heard the second verse and I was laughing like, "Nas is a funny nigga." Then I heard the third verse and was like, "Oh My God, somebody finally put this nigga on his ass." I was shocked. That gave Nas his whole career back, back then.

thaFormula.com - Do you think you breaking that like that made people wanna deal with you even more?

DJ Kay Slay - I think besides that it was also when Jay-Z made "Super Ugly." So on New York radio they were premiering the Jay-Z response at 3pm. I mean you could have heard a pin drop in New York city that day when that time came. When they played the record, I wasn't even supposed to be up there. They was like, we gonna play this Jay-Z record and asked me to come in the room. When they played that record, everybody is looking around the room. Flex, Angie, E-Nuff, and basically all of Hot 97. Niggaz started going around the room and everybody was like, Jay-Z or I got to go with Hova and I'm looking around like huh. Now had this been "Ether" versus "Takeover", I would have probably felt like Nas edged him a little bit, but that was a equal battle. But it was "Ether" versus "Super Ugly." So when they went around the room, I was like, "you all can't do this cause Nas won that." And everybody looked like, "Oh, this nigga is talkin' against Jay on the radio." I said "did you guys hear that, did you hear the lyrics?" I wigged out man. I'm talkin' about faxes was coming through, my pager was going off blowing up, my phone was ringing. The phone lines were ringing like crazy and everybody was just like we love you right now. Shit just went crazy. Nas even told me when he seen me, "Yo, we was sittin' in the car like these niggaz are about to rob me, but when you did that shit, you changed the whole outlook to everybody." Now when I did that move, that's when everybody really wanted to fuck with me. Because no matter how rich you are or how poor you are, if you won you won and if you lost you lost.

thaFormula.com - How did it feel to see so many DJ's bitin' your style and all that as far as the mix tapes goes?

DJ Kay Slay - Those are my sons man and I don't fault them. They got to do what they got to do to get on. As long as everybody knows that I am the first to ever put a host on their mixtape. The "hosted by so and so" on a mixtape started with me. You can't deny that. I was hostin', talkin' shit, shittin' on niggaz. Niggaz wasn't doing that. It's cool, I don't knock anyone for doing it. Like I say, each one teach one 'cause this is what it is all about. Just don't try and claim something your not.

thaFormula.com - On the other side of it though, there was a lot of backlash as far as all the screaming on mix tapes was concerned. How did you take that?

DJ Kay Slay - I'm not a fuckin' bitch. I'm a nigga from the streets and that's how I react in real life. I'm a cool, calm nigga, but I put my heart and backbone into everything I do. I don't know how to be soft. I caught backlash, but muthafuckas still copped my joints. If I didn't scream on the tapes or this and that, muthafuckas would be able to take records off my tapes and put it on their mixtape. Niggaz was trying to do it anyway and try to cover up the screaming. So it is what it is and that's how I kept my shit exclusive.

thaFormula.com - Why is it so hard for the West Coast to get any type of play out in the East?

DJ Kay Slay - I just think that everybody just has to put out good music. Look Game and Snoop get plenty of play anywhere. I know Snoop is a veteran, but Game ain't been around that long. So I think it's about the quality of music that brothers put out and beyond that it starts at home out in the West. What I get from a lot of West Coast artists that are coming up and that have been around, is that niggaz on the radio don't show them no love. What you are asking me is somewhat the situation that the new East Coast cats are in. They ain't getting crazy love from mainstream radio at home so how do they expect to get it elsewhere. It's the same thing with y'all. Y'all have the same problem and that ain't me saying this. That is what I'm getting from my brothers out there.

thaFormula.com - How did you come across Papoose man?

DJ Kay Slay - I found hip doing what a lot of muthafuckas are gonna do. Papoose was right in front of Hot 97 every shift going hard, giving niggaz his cd and everything. At first we didn't hit it off to good because he was a little arrogant. But he had the hunger to get on. Anybody that knows how Hot 97 is, knows that there is hundreds of niggaz outside trying to hand you music. So when I finally did get a chance to listen to him, I said damn this dude has something to say. That means more to me then a muthafucka that has a hot record. It's not the hot record, but what he is saying. Because at the end of the day, that's what is gonna keep you relevant and around this muthafucka. We all know them one hit wonders. So I just figured, if he had some better production and just some guidance and direction, this nigga could be a star. So I invited him up to the show one time with Mobb Deep and my man Littles. When that mic came on, he had something to prove man. After that, there was nothing to talk about.

thaFormula.com - Were people surprised with Pap and had most people not really been up on him?

DJ Kay Slay - Anybody that is really into Hip-Hop would have known that he was on Kool G Rap's album in 1999 and he also had a song with AZ. He also had the "Alphabetical Slaughter" song in 1998. So he had been around, it's just on an underground level. Nobody ever really embraced him or tried to work with dude. A lot of people don't want to get into something that they really don't know about. Papoose goes over muthafuckas heads.

thaFormula.com - How hard do you think it's gonna be to really break him into the mainstream?

DJ Kay Slay - Well right now niggaz already know who he is. He's been on one of the biggest videos this year. He's been on a record that's been nominated for a Grammy the "Touch It" remix with Busta. So they know him on the mainstream level. Now it's just about us coming out with the record with him on his own. So that's not even a headache for me. Look at what he has done already. He has 17 mix tapes out and he's got number 18 coming out on New Years Day. His mix tapes are equivalent to albums so we just coasting man. We ain't rushing into anything. Were just taking our time and everything is coming together where it's supposed to be.

thaFormula.com - Lastly, what is the one rule a person should live by when trying to get deep into this industry man?

DJ Kay Slay - Don't trust nobody in this industry and you will be alright. This is business and as long as you keep a business mind on you, then you are good. If you start trusting muthafuckas and thinking they are your friends and they love you, then you got a fucking problem.

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