Still Relevant? Lord Jazz
If you haven’t heard from Lords of the Underground in a while, it’s because you haven’t been listening hard enough. The legendary Jersey trio hasn’t gone anywhere. They’ve been steady touring and making music with their latest album House of Lords released last August and new DVD out now. HHLO got the chance to talk to DJ Lord Jazz on the phone from his current home in Paris about what he’s been up to overseas and future L.O.T.U.G. projects.
Pete the Meat: |
So what are you up to these days? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Well, these days I’m out in Paris, France. I’m just touring all over the world, man. That’s what I’m doing. I’m DJ-ing worldwide. I was doing radio out here in Paris on a station called Generation Radio but I had stopped because I was never here. I was always on the road so I just took my show on the road, kept it moving. I still do a radio show on the internet people can check out on Friday nights. It’s www.conspiracyuk.com and basically, like I said, still just DJ-ing and I bring Lord DoItAll And Mr. Funke to Europe a lot. We do a lot of tours out here. That’s really what we’ve been doing for the past five years. We’ve been out in Europe, all these countries out here, even in Africa, we’ve been banging classic joints and new material. Speaking of Lords, we dropped an album called House of Lords in late December released on an indie label. Basically, there was really no promotion behind it. We basically just hit the road ourselves and we got it out there. It’s on the internet, you can find it on iTunes and all the digital downloads. We’re just working, man, just working. |
Pete the Meat: |
How hard was it for you guys to come back with the new album and kind of re-introduce yourselves in a way? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Well, the hard part was just getting back together. I mean, we are all spread out right now. I’m living out here in Paris, Do is in Jersey and Funke is in North Carolina, so it was just hard for us to link up and get back in the studio which we finally found time to do. |
Pete the Meat: |
So who was the one who said you should get back together and record a new album? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Well, we never broke up. We’re just grown men now and we have other responsibilities and time just didn’t permit us to all get together and be in a studio and bang out songs. But basically, I guess I can say I was the nucleus for this because I’m out here in Europe and it feels like golden era of hip-hop out here. You know, they really love the boom-bap and the real hip-hop, so to speak. I just instilled what I have out here back home because it’s like back home now, I don’t know, they’re saying hip-hop is corny now, is dead, there’s no creativity. Being out here I think is good for me because it’s like a breath of fresh air. They play a lot of different styles of music on the radio and it’s just a breath of fresh air, man. |
Pete the Meat: |
It seems like in Europe, the people out there are hungrier for underground hip-hop. |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Oh yeah, they’re still hungry for underground. And the thing about out here is once they’re a fan of a group, they’re always a fan. They don’t just jump on bandwagons here. It’s like everywhere we go it’s sold-out, packed concerts. The last tour we did, we were in Budapest and some crazy places, Bulgaria, Greece, sold out, packed shows. |
Pete the Meat: |
There are a lot of people touring out in South America, Europe that you don’t really hear of touring in America anymore. |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Right. I mean, I tell people all the time that the world is a lot bigger than America. America is not the only place in the world. You have to really broaden your horizon. There’s money to get everywhere. |
Pete the Meat: |
How long have you been living over there? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Since, like, 2004. I’ve been coming back and forth since 2001, though. Then in 2004 I started to stay out here. |
Pete the Meat: |
I think people are too easily influenced over here, maybe. |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Well, you know, the media can do that to you. I mean, radio stations, it’s all brainwashing. You can hate a song but if you’re in the car and you’ve got your radio on, when you constantly hear a song, you find yourself singing the shit yourself. It’s just brainwashing, man. Playing the same shit over and over and over and you’ll eventually start to like it. But they’re really on some underground hip-hop culture shit out here. When I spin at parties they still form a cipher and breakdance. It’s like that. They really, really love hip-hop. |
Pete the Meat: |
Do they put their own style on it? The French hip-hop? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Yeah, well you know everybody just tries to copy off of what Americans do so they do the same shit. Now they’re trying to do the down south style of music. You know, the Lil’ Flip, Lil’ Jon. If your name has Lil’ or Young in the front, then they’re trying to be like it, basically. But the hip-hop scene out here is huge. It’s, like, second to America in sales and money made. It’s a huge movement. |
Pete the Meat: |
So you put out a DVD recently as well? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Yeah, we’ve got a DVD off of not the last tour, but the one before that, last year called Still L.O.T.U.G. It’s just basically us on this European tour day to day, what we go through, getting ready for these shows, just the road work to let people know this shit ain’t that easy. It’s like, nowadays, there are no more fans. It seems like to me that if you tell somebody, “Check out the new Lords album,” then they’re like, “Oh yeah? Well, check out my album.” There’s no more fans. Everybody can rap now, everybody can produce and DJ and it’s really crazy right now. |
Pete the Meat: |
Yeah, I guess because people have a perception that it’s a very easy thing to get into. Like, they see movies like 8 Mile or Hustle and Flow and they’re like, “Oh, that’s all you have to do.” |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Right. I mean, technology is helping with that too because you can do everything now at your house. You don’t have to go to a studio. You can get a decent sound digitally now that you don’t have to go nowhere, and that’s why you have a mass majority of people trying to do it. But when you do it like that, everybody can’t rap but they think they can. Everybody can’t produce but they think they can. What happens is you hear a lot of bullshit and I think it’s really getting people tired. That’s why they’re saying hip-hop is dead. That’s my take on it. It’s crazy. And what labels do now is they go check on Youtube who has 14-million hits on their video or little dance and they sign acts like that now. It’s a whole different game now. You have to do everything yourself now. All the labels do it put it out there, basically. People used to get, you know, $600, 000 advance and there’s none of that no more. |
Pete the Meat: |
Yeah, there is still really good stuff out there, you just have to find it. And in a way, the internet is good in helping to discover those artists. |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Yeah, I agree but a lot of that stuff doesn’t get heard unless you’re really into it and you know where to listen or who to go to in order to check it out. But the mass majority of people, they don’t get to hear that stuff. I mean, you’ve got cats like Acrobatic?????? And Masta Ace and cats like this that are still putting out quality albums that don’t really get heard or get recognized. But it’s up to DJ’s, real DJ’s, to spin these records and let people hear them. |
Pete the Meat: |
So what else are you working on? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Right now me and Funke Man are doing a collaboration together. We basically just started working on it. And I forgot to say we did a joint with Pete Rock on his newest album. |
Pete the Meat: |
Oh yeah, that’s right. That was one of my favorite joints on there. |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Yeah, he should have dropped that as a single. I don’t know what he’s doing (laughs). |
Pete the Meat: |
What’s the single? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
I think the one with Jim Jones. But big up to my nigga Pete Rock though. But me and Funke We’re putting together I guess you could say his solo album because I finally talked him into doing it and, trust me, it’s going to be a banger. We also got an album that we did with 9th Wonder called Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop and it’s real, real madness right there. Also, I have a mix CD too that I’m doing. After this Funke solo project I’m going to finish that up with featured artists all around the world. I did some music with this cat called Dynamax and he’s down with Zulu Nation and he just formed a new group called the Bronx Syndicate with Donald D. I got some joints on that. I’m just staying busy, man. |
Pete the Meat: |
Anything else you want fans to know? |
DJ Lord Jazz: |
Basically just keep supporting real hip-hop, checking out L.O.T.U.G., man, we still givin’ it to y’all. We never broke up, we’re still a group and we survived. Also, we’re going to be in New York with Naughty By Nature, EPMD and O.C. April 25th at the Nokia Theater. It’s going to be crazy. We might also be touring this summer in America so just be on the lookout. Hit us up on the Myspace. |
[...] Editor wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThey’ve been steady touring and making music with their latest album House of Lords released last August and new DVD out now. HHLO got the chance to talk to DJ Lord Jazz on the phone from his current home in Paris about what he’s been … [...]