Gangstarr is one of the illest Hip Hop groups to ever do it, so there’s no question, heads want a reunion. The danger in that is the tendency to sleep on anything that’s not Gangstarr. So, instead of asking the same tired questions, we chose to spotlight that new new coming from Guru and Solar, a partnership that’s looking to push music forward and at the same time, bring that real Hip Hop back. Peep the interview to find out about their use of Auto-Tune, Retro music videos, 7Grand the label and of course, the new album, 8.0 Lost and Found. Don’t sleep!

Hip Hop Lives Online: what are things that you set out to do differently from the last Guru/Solar album: Street Scriptures?
Guru: Lyrically wise, just to step it up another notch and show the versatility that’s not really seen. To have a variety of joints that incorporates something for everybody. I’m rhyming at tempos that I never rhymed at before and different things like that. Covering the old kind of subject matter as well, so everything from battle raps to social commentary. Production-wise that’s a Solar question.
Solar: I mean, conceptually, to just give an overview of what was going on. Street Scriptures was our first album with 7Grand Records. Therefore, we were in a very optimistic place. But equally we felt that when we brought 7Grand Records forward we wanted to show NY in a different light. At that time, we had G-Unit of course, 50 cent, and all the big big major multi-billion dollar label phenomenon’s and superstars out there. We just said, “hey we just wanna make good Hip Hop”. We want to make a record about that, to me, what the average New Yorker would understand, the average Hip Hop head. If you want a bling record you can buy the bling record from the other purveyors of that. But, if you wanted a real Hip Hop album, we felt 7Grand would be the new outlet to get that. With 8.0 Lost and Found, that represents a very “visionistic” production style. Even in my own estimation of myself, I kind of went beyond myself to make beats that I believe are at least five or ten years ahead of their time right now. These are tracks that people will be listening to five years from now saying “wow that was crazy”. So I wanted to make a Hip Hop album, production-wise, that is now 2009. What is real Hip Hop now? This is the question that I ask the Hip Hop community to ask yourselves, who is the producer now that is bringing you real honest Hip Hop that is not only for ‘09 but for the future. We all know we love to listen to the older Hip Hop, the classic Hip Hop, because it was ahead of its time.

HHLO: You guys seem to be very music forward and like on the new album, ya’ll embrace the Auto-Tune, what do you say to peers and people on ya level, that are hating on devices such as Auto-Tune?
Solar: From my position, Auto-Tune has been around with Jamaican records like whatever you wanna call it, Dancehall, Hip Hop, Movado, they were using Auto-Tune since 93-94, you know what I mean, heavily, before we started hearing it on Dirty South records. Also on house tracks, techno tracks, even going back to like Cher on disco records. It’s been used. It’s just a part of the production sound scape now. Like when Pro Tools first came out, a lot of producers were like “nah man, tape is where it’s at, tape is where it’s at” and Pro Tools is here to stay. I think we used it in context. Listen to “It’s a Shock“, it’s a futuristic song. We’re talking about robots policing the inner city community. So putting a robotic effect on Guru’s voice is seeing the work artistically for us. On “Fastlane“, it just added a nice touch to the other sound effects I had in there, the speeding cars and the other things I have on there. So it just seemed to be a little more of a step to make the song more interesting. But as a whole, just for the record, I don’t think Auto-Tune is a bad thing. Over-using it sometimes makes people numb to it.
Guru: Or to use it to replace or cover up the fact that someone can’t sing or that the vocals is wack, that’s different. We didn’t do that. On a song we got called “Ride“; you can hear that Omar sung that song brilliantly. Auto-Tune just enhanced it and made it a little more futuristic for what we wanted to come across.

HHLO: So you guys are using it conceptually and to accentuate the themes, instead of just using it to use it?
Guru: Exactly.
Solar: And it’s not like I’m not a fan of the sound. As strange as some people might think it sounds, I’m a fan of Kanye’s music, I’m a fan of Wayne’s stuff, I’m a fan of T-pain. I think that, used properly, it’s a good studio tool. If you listen to some of the beats, some of my beats are inspired by all great beat makers. There are tracks that I listen to now that are just phenomenal, that are coming out of the South and some of the stuff from the West coast. I’m a producer and at the end of the day, I’m a fan of other producers. I like good beats, I like hot music. If something affects me, you might hear it in the music.

HHLO: Solar, you’re rapping on this record. Do you plan to put out a record of your own?
Solar: Yes (laughs). I’m working on my album and at the same time I’m working on a couple of other projects. Heads out there that don’t know I’m also a director and I directed the new video for “Divine Rule”. I’ll be directing the next couple of videos that will be coming out. So I really have my plateful, but I am working on an album and that’s a fact. I’m also working on an album for K Born and Highpower featured on the album. So for all those heads out there that are checking, stay tuned, there will be some more stuff coming from Solar.

HHLO: You guys kept the album virtually feature-free besides K Born and Highpower (who are on 7Grand) and Omar. Why did you decide to do that?
Guru: You know the last two releases on 7Grand were Jazzmatazz releases, and Jazzmatazz is known for the art of collaboration. Being that this was a pure Hip Hop record we wanted to keep it with the fam, in-house. Also, that lyrical versatility that I possess, I wanted to bring that forth. It’s not really seen like that where somebody can make a pure Hip Hop record and then turn around and make a sophisticated record like Jazzmatazz. This is what we’re showing, the versatility.

Solar: I think the heads out there will agree with me, the fans of Guru’s work with Gangstarr and Jazzmatazz know that Guru is one of those rare emcees where they don’t need a lot of that. He set the standard very high with Jazzmatazz but quite honestly, when I sat in the studio and listened to the stuff that Guru was putting down, I felt like he really didn’t need anything but Guru. At the end of the day, this is what great rappers do. A great rapper doesn’t really need features and can bring an album all on his own. Guru’s one of the best you’ll ever hear, that’s a fact.

HHLO: I’m sure a lot of people want to get down with your movement. How’d you guys select K Born and Highpower for the team?
Solar: Well, let me tell you something, K Born and Highpower have been making moves on the Philly scene for a while now, along with some other notables out there like Lord Kamachi and some other cats that I’ve had the pleasure to hear or work with from the Philly scene. We met the gods back around 2005 when we were touring the Street Scriptures. We met and they spit for me and let me hear what they had, we stayed in contact, they would shoot me some demos and I would monitor what they were doing on MySpace and they came along. That’s the same advice I give to anybody out there, be persistent. That’s the answer. They were consistent and persistent. They made sure I always heard what they were writing and that they were in the studio and always working on new material. To get two songs on the album with Guru and Solar, you gotta work hard. I’m not even gonna tell you how many songs they submitted. They put in their work and I think Guru will agree that they are outstanding.
Guru: Definitely. They represent that intelligent street knowledge for right now. Also, they don’t rhyme alike, they complement each other which is what I like too.

HHLO: Word. Philly’s always doing it big. They’re like New York, they’re straight spitters.
Solar: That’s what we’re looking for. In ‘09, for 7Grand, that’s what we’re trying to bring forward is Hip Hop. We love Hip Hop. Don’t get me wrong, I like Dirty South stuff, I’m a big fan of Dirty South Hip Hop. Jeezy, Wayne, TI, the list goes on, also, the stuff coming out of the West. But, the bottom line I’m a fan of real Hip Hop. To be a real Hip Hop artist that can make a real Hip Hop record is somebody that can spit. You gotta be able to put your 16’s down and make people feel you.

HHLO: Let’s talk about the direction you took with “Divine Rule”. I think went over people’s heads, can you tell about it?
Guru: (laughs) Lyrically, it’s about a glorious time in Hip Hop but the beat is futuristic. Also, the beat is like a disco break that people used to rhyme off of back in the day. It’s a back to the future type of record.
Solar: The concept is pretty much, if you just watch the opening shots of the video I think you can get kind of get it. You see the ipod morph into a tape deck. That’s what it’s showing, we went from tape decks back in the day, break-dancers and back then it was common for DJ’s to scratch up very fast disco breaks, which also became the backdrop for graffiti and so forth. The canvas for a lot of that graffiti was NYC subway trains, so that’s where the concept comes. At the same time, we see a shot of our President Barack Obama, which would’ve seemed impossible from that era. What people don’t realize is Barack Obama is from the generation of the original Hip Hop heads. He’s about the same age as Grandmaster Flash and Herc and em. For the young heads out there that don’t know, do your history. Find out where Hip Hop came from. So, it’s not a stretch to say what we’re doing is bringing forth concepts about what you have now came from somewhere and of course, it’ll keep evolving and turning into other things. I think a lot of people either love the fact that Guru is spitting very fast and others don’t get it, but if you listen to the album you got enough to choose from.

HHLO: Yeah, the video looks low budget but there’s that theme behind it.
Solar: When you’re directing a video, in terms of how something looks, it’s all conceptual. You can have a Rick Ross video which is like a Hollywood movie. At the same time, is that what’s necessary to get an idea across. CGI work is becoming the standard; people are more and more embracing the concept. It’s something that you’re going to see more of with me and Guru. To be accurate though, the approval rating on the video is at 93%. But, don’t take my word for it, go check it out on YouTube.

HHLO: What’s your favorite song off the album at the moment?
Guru: Right now.. I’ve been bumping different ones every two weeks.

HHLO: You gotta pick one!
Guru: The one featuring Doo Wop. “No Gimmick Ish.”
Solar: It’s really like a toss-up between “Those Days” and “Lost and Found”

HHLO: What’s your favorite song to perform live?
Guru: I like performing “Divine Rule” live, because it’s hype. Anytime you do the hype joints live, it gets the crowd going. “Lost and Found” is another one I like doing live. It has an atmospheric effect that puts ‘em in a trance.

HHLO: Yeah, the sample is nuts.
Guru: A lot of the instrumental work Solar is doing is sample-free but I’ll let him break that down.
Solar: Well, there is some sampling going on, but the way I’m doing it is very unique. I’m adding textures and other elements. It’s 2009 sampling. Ultimately, if it makes your head nod it’s a good thing.

HHLO: Let’s talk about some of the new cats coming out. Who do you co-sign?
Guru: I’m diggin’ everybody from Immortal Technique to Jadakiss, Cam, I like Jim Jones.

HHLO: What about the new kids on the blogs?
Guru: I like the Cool Kids. I like Wale from DC.

HHLO: What do you like about them, so they know what they’re doing right?
Guru: Lyrical concepts. Original flows. Versatility. A good voice. On our time bomb mix cd we had people like Zion I, Mr. Lif, Aceyalone, I dig them too.
Solar: I’m feelin’ Joell Ortiz, Lupe, Shawty Lo out the South. Jeezy, Lil Wayne, some of the stuff is outstanding. I’m feelin’ Asher Roth, he’s got a good thing goin there. I also like Kid Cudi, he got a banger there. I listen to a lot of different things and I like the stuff I’m hearing.

HHLO: Can you clarify why you guys like Jeezy? I think he’s nice too but I think a lot of people think he’s wack
Guru: Aw man, I don’t understand why people are hating on him. He’s got that on- offbeat flow. We used to call it the slow flow. It’s crazy because you can hear everything he’s saying because it’s the slow flow but he’s still hitting the beat right. His metaphor style is nice and his voice is unique.
Solar: This might sound a little bugged out but to me, it’s like an underground version of the Dirty South. His voice and delivery is kind of commercial because they promote it like that.  When I first heard him I thought, this is a cat with a really unique style and the way he sold it, what he would be rapping about with his voice, it seemed to all go together. When I first heard Shawty Lo, that’s another cat that I felt had that authenticity, if you will.

HHLO: That’s wussup. Good luck with everything that’s going on and thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
Solar: Well, we appreciate it. We want to say to all the fans, big up, because the album is doing very well. It’s probably going to be our biggest album on 7Grand because the heads out there supporting it. If you don’t got your copy, get out there and grab ya copy or get on ITunes and support this real Hip Hop.
Guru: Yeah, represent. Support independent real Hip Hop. Check us out on myspace.com/Guru7Grand, myspace.com/solar7Grand, twitter.com/guru7Grand. Holla.\

Originally published June 8, 2009

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