Revolutionary music can empower both the individual listener and the masses. A musical uprising can be inspired by an eccentric emcee with his heart and mind in state of balance. Whether inspiring actual physical movements or innovative music, revolutionary music moves people on a fundamental physical or mental level. Formally of Organized Konfusion, Prince Po is a true eccentric emcee. With a microphone in his hand and a slick attitude within his heart, Prince Po has moved listeners in spiritual, physical, and philosophical ways.

Organized Konfusion instantly sparked a mental revolution in each listener. Fans first heard of the duo when they released the “Judge Fudge” single and their self-titled debut album. Featuring O.C., “Judge Fudge” has an energetic beat and wildly innovative flows by the emcees. Formed by Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po, Organized Konfusion truly gained critical acclaim with their “Stress: The Extinction Agenda” album (Hollywood Records). Their anthem-like single, “Stress” has helped to empower listeners to challenge their own mental demons. “Crush! Kill! Destroy stress!” was chanted repetitively over rugged drums. Prince Po’s opening verse gained him worldwide attention and helped to make the track a classic hip-hop song. “Pain! Stress! My brain – can’t even rest / It’s hard to maintain the pressure on my chest…”, Po rhymes with a both confidence and vulnerability. The album included other songs like “Maintain”, “Black Sunday”, “Bring It On”, and “Why?” featured mind-blowing flows and emotional lyrics. The follow up Organized Konfusion album, “The Equinox” (Priority Records) featured many skits, which weaved narrative tale through the LP. Creative concept tracks had thoughtful lyrics that fans would only truly understand after multiple listens. The song, “Invetro” was told through the eyes of an unborn child. The aggressive track, “Hate” has Prince Po rhyming through the eyes of a White supremist. Although the album gained critical acclaim, many fans were devoted to “Stress: The Extinction Agenda”

    Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch broke up Organized Konfusion and walked their separate paths. Signed to Rawkus, Monch had a major hit with “Simon Sez”. While Monch was in the limelight, many fans wondered about Prince Po. They did form their management group, Nasty Habits. After many years, Prince Po finally released his debut solo album “The Slickness” on Lex Records. With a beautiful packaging design, “The Slickness” is an undiscovered gem of a record. Production included Madlib, J-Zone, Jel, Prince Po, and others. Guests included Raekwon, J-Ro (of Alkaholiks), MF Doom, J-Zone, and more. The innovative concept tracks were accessible, but they still possessed an emotional core. Produced by Prince Po, “Be Easy” can almost be dubbed mellow sequel to “Stress”. Produced by Madlib and featuring Raekwon, “The Bump Bump” is an up-tempo track with a thick, bouncy rhythm and catchy chorus. Other tracks like “Love Thing”, “Social Distortion” (with MF Doom), and the title track all prove that Po has what it takes to be a solo artist. The European label, Lex Records released the album with limited distribution. The only problem with “The Slickness” was that the album was hard to purchase in America.
    
    Prince Po is continues to work hard, make music, and inspire listeners. On a warm evening during the later summer of 2005, I had a very in-depth conversation with Po about Organized Konfusion, Monch, hip-hop, racism, different countries, and much more. Poetic royalty is in his blood. Prince Po is the Prince of revolutionary hip-hop that inspires deep thoughts and fierce action. Prince Po makes music from his heart as “The Slickness” flows through the blood in his veins.


T.JONES: "What goes on?"
PRINCE PO: “Nothing much. Nasty Habits Entertainment, our new production company. It’s a new one made up by me and Monch. Pharoahe and I had one named Medicine Men Productions, but we found out that someone else had the name. We could have sued them but instead of going through all of that, we just made a new company called Nasty Habits Entertainment. I got artists and we’re developing them. We have a few producers. I’m coming out with a new album, ‘Pretty Black’, which is my next solo album. I have new artists too. We have Touch Em Blak. GBG, which stands for Gary Blue Grass. It’s a Blue Grass band. I have an artist named Stone, who was in a group called Brotherman. I’m just trying to make it happen. I have one of the hottest producers, who happens to be a female. Her name is Jazimoto. I’m trying to grow, build, and get a foundation. I’m being creative, man.”

T.JONES: “What label is going to release the ‘Pretty Black’ album?”
PRINCE PO: “I don’t know right now. I’m looking for the right independent situation. I’m talking to a few people. Penalty Records or Up Above Records may be doing something with me. It’s up in the air right now. I’m in the studio until I feel that somebody may do right on the album and get it out there. That’s one purpose of this interview. I’m trying to reach out and let the fans know that I’m still working. Cats wonder what happened.”

T.JONES: “What did happen? You were in Europe for a while?”
PRINCE PO: “I was overseas last year, promoting and doing shows for ‘The Slickness’ album that I put out on Lex Records.”

T.JONES: “Tell us about ‘The Slickness’ and how you got involved with Lex Records.”
PRINCE PO: “Actually, they called me to do a song. My man, Jemini, had a song. I produced his first single, ‘Funk Soul Sensation’. He hooked up with Danger Mouse. They had a deal with Lex Records. Danger liked the work ethic we had and asked me if I would like to do a record on Lex for myself? It worked out, but there were some things I had to adjust to. It’s different working with an overseas label. It was a good experience being overseas last year.”

T.JONES: “What were some differences working with a European label as opposed to an American label?”
PRINCE PO: “For one, it basically comes down to money. The dollar is almost half of what a Pound is. If they spend ₤50,000 on promotions, it’s really like $100,000 here. The value of the dollar is different. A lot of overseas labels, not all of them, but a lot of them don’t have a relationship with people over here in the U.S. That hinders selling records in the United States.”

T.JONES: “Did ‘The Slickness’ LP get promotion in the United States?”
PRINCE PO: “Actually, it did. The people that they hired to promote the record here, in the States, weren’t competent enough to get the project to where it should have been at. If it was a project that came out on Penalty Records or Traffic Entertainment, there would have been a whole different impact. It would have been a movement. The album remains a classic. They love the album. The people who know about it over here, look at it as something very eclectic.”

T.JONES: “What is the underlying theme to, ‘The Slickness’?”
PRINCE PO: “‘The Slickness’ is about a lifestyle. It’s like saying you are a b-boy, but in a modern way. It’s a way you carry yourself in hip-hop culture. The way you wear your hat, the way you talk, and the love you have for hip-hop. It’s the way you walk and the way you act. It’s a whole style of living. Even if you take the word ‘slick’ as ‘You think you are slick’, or ‘You think you are sneaky’, or ‘You think you’re smart.’ But, ‘The Slickness’ is how you wear your sneakers and make your pants fall over your sneakers. You want them to look a certain way. Back in the day, b-boys tied their pants to their legs. It’s a style. It’s a life. It’s a movement.”

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite song on ‘The Slickness’ LP?”
PRINCE PO: “‘Be Easy’, not because I produced it, but the purpose behind the song. It’s for my man Matt Doo, who drew the cover for Organized Konfusion’s 2nd album, ‘Stress: The Extinction Agenda’. He drew us in caricature form. Years afterwards, he killed himself. That was basically because of the stress and turmoil that you have to face everyday. It’s survival. Some people don’t understand that suicide is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Some of who choose not to fight any more. It touched my heart when he passed away. I wanted to do a song for that. Even when you’re getting money, getting your shit together, and things are looking good, some of the times you have to sit back, not get caught up in the angst, and be easy. You have to appreciate the little things that are going on in your life, instead of trying to shoot for the big ones.”

T.JONES: “What song took the longest, from conception to completion?”
PRINCE PO: “I would say ‘Social Distortion’ with MF Doom because of the process. Our schedules were conflicting. That was the main one. ‘Love Thing’ too. I wanted to do a song called, ‘Love Thing’ but I wanted to make the lyrics say how things are fucked up. But at the same token, count your blessings. This music thing is love. There’s positive energy. That took the longest to write because there’s so much negative shit around you. And you don’t want to be a sucker for the people. I know that I’m not a sucker, but I know that love is in hip-hop. I don’t know where it’s going, but I’m going to keep it in the original form that I learned about in the music.”

T.JONES: “These days, many collaborations are not recorded while the artists are together. Some are mailed in. How were the guest spots on ‘The Slickness’ album done?”
PRINCE PO: “The only ones we did together were the one I did that I worked with Carla personally. I wrote all of the stuff that she sang as well. I worked personally with Raekwon too. He’s a good friend of mine.”

T.JONES: “What was it like working with Raekwon for the song, ‘The Bump Bump’?”
PRINCE PO: “He’s so devoted to the game. I called him early on a Friday and he was there Saturday. Much love to him and the love he has for the music. He did like 25 fucking takes for ‘The Bump Bump’!

T.JONES: “J-Zone produced a couple of tracks on ‘The Slickness’. What was it like working with J-Zone?”
PRINCE PO: “J-Zone put in a valiant effort. We built a couple of times. We didn’t work in the same exact location together, but we talked and we built together. He’s the one who did ‘Copycat’, a song I did with Jemini and Danger Mouse. J-Zone is very creative. He doesn’t cater to the industry. He just tries to do what he thinks is creative. That’s important. He sticks to what he does and he loves it.”

T.JONES: “How has being a solo artist changed your approach to hip-hop?”
PRINCE PO: “Anyone who understands math and science understands that what is - is what it is. I never came out as Prince Po from Organized Konfusion. I came out as Organized Konfusion and my name is Prince Po. I just had to accept that there would always be an element missing when Monch is not rhyming with me on the record. I just try to cover as many elements as I can by myself. I think that it made me grow a lot, but I was able to adjust. I realized the changes that the industry was making. It’s not my industry so, I can’t make the rules and regulations. I can realize how it is going and how it is and how I can fit in that system. It basically comes down to how to work with the elements you’re dealing with. I’m trying to make songs with lyrics that are not so tongue twisting, but still have messages.  I always get my point across. It’s still a struggle. Monch is a very creative dude. That was my other half. We still talk, fight, and talk on the phone. It’s incredible how our relationship overcomes everything else, even the industry. We can support each other, do different things, and still have respect for each other. It’s powerful enough to give me the energy to write for myself.”

T.JONES: “Why did Organized Konfusion break up?”
PRINCE PO: “Well we broke up because we didn’t want to hear the fans say the same thing like, ‘You’re dope but you are not getting the right promotion’. That gets tiring. We had three albums and fans thought we were dope but didn’t have the right promotion. We didn’t want that shit to run us into the ground. People kept saying that. It was a hopeless situation, but would we would always be dope? We wanted to preserve the name. I don’t think the records would have been the classics that they are if we kept on throwing records out there like it was nothing. Right now, we are trying to make some moves and put out an Organized Konfusion remix album. We are just trying to make moves on another side. After we came off the road, I was tired. Besides writing, I was doing most of the business. I would say that I was doing 90% of the business. I would always sit down with Monch and discuss it with him. We did do 50/50 on everything. I was burnt out. I was writing rhymes, making beats, doing the business, talking to the labels, and building with the managers. I made sure the job got done while Monch was able to be an artist. That was cool. Monch is my brother, but I wanted to get to a point where I could be creative, make songs, and worry about being an emcee or producer. Even now, that won’t happen because I have a company and artists who I’m working with. The job will never get easier. It will always get more tedious. The difference is that I’m ready for it now. I had to take that break. On the road, we did a lot of shows and a lot of traveling. I was mentally and physically burnt out. Monch was like, ‘Do I have your blessings to go into the studio and work on some material to get a deal?’ I was for it. His anger wasn’t like he wanted to go and shoot somebody at the label. His anger came out in a way that he had to show the world that he was not done yet.”

T.JONES: “After Organized Konfusion broke up, you appeared on Pharoahe Monch’s solo album, ‘Internal Affairs’. How did the song, ‘God Send’ come about?”
PRINCE PO: “He told me the idea of a song he wanted to do. You know, Monch is very eclectic about his music. He wanted me to be on the song that meant the most to him on that album. That’s why he named it, ‘God Send’. We really try to stay focused and count our blessings. We collaborated on the song. I had the rhyme ready and he liked the rhyme. That pretty much made it a rap. It was done just as quickly as he mentioned it to me. With this album he is working on now, we’re building on something. We are also building on this mix-tape that I’m putting out called, ‘The Lost Scrolls’. I’ve been working on this. People have been like, ‘Where is Prince Po?’. I’ve noticed those questions on mightypharoahe.com. They think that I disappeared. There were just a whole lot of things going on. I had to make the transition of using 2000 & 950 from using the 2000 and the Reason program in the computer. It got very digital. I had to teach myself how to use Reason. I had to teach myself how to use Windows products. I had to teach myself how to use Pro-Tools. All of that stuff takes time. I educated myself.”

T.JONES: “On the song ‘Money, Power & Influence’ from Guru’s ‘The Street Scriptures’ album, Talib Kweli mentions that Pro-Tools made producers lazy. Do you agree?”
PRINCE PO: “Of course, it did! It is a lazier way to make music. It’s cheating a little bit because somebody programmed it to cater to the hip-hop world. It has taken out the creativity. Premier chopped samples up, showed his own creativity, and took that record to another level. Pro-Tools changed it drastically. That’s the whole thing. I can’t change the game and say, ‘Fuck Pro-Tools! It’s too digital!’ Even if I don’t use it, if somebody puts me in a situation where I have to use it, I have to show and prove.  I don’t totally agree with it because it is taking away some of the creativity. I still like sampling and I play a few things around it. That’s how it goes now. Pro-Tools did hinder the game a little bit and put some studios out of business.”

T.JONES: “Will there ever be another Organized Konfusion album?”
PRINCE PO: “Possibly, in the Fall of 2006.

T.JONES: “Are you still in contact with O.C.?”
PRINCE  PO: “We’re talking. O.C. is on the road with Hieroglyphics. We’re trying to work things out with him too. It’s all a family situation but with us, we’re not yes-men towards each other. If O.C. feels a certain way to me, he’s going to express it, which is something he has done. I don’t give a shit because I put him on a record. He didn’t put me on a record. He’s Monch’s neighbor before anything else. I love him like a brother. He’s like a little brother with me. I want him to get the best he can out of his career, make the most money, and be happy. It’s just that if a little brother is wrong, he is wrong. I’m not going to ‘Yes’ him.”

T.JONES: “That ‘Starchild’ LP by O.C. (on Grit / Nocturne Records) was dope.”
PRINCE PO: “I’ve heard it a couple of times. I’m just hoping that he’s happy with what he’s doing. Then, I’ll be happy with his project. He’s a dope emcee. He’s definitely creative. Hopefully, we’ll work again in the future. Right now, let him do him. Once he can get back home and really realize that with the talent that we have, we can make something together. I never knock him. I tell people to support him and buy his records all the time. It’s just that, when a little brother does something, you have to let him do it. ‘Jewelz’ is not O.C. ‘Jewelz’ is a cool album but it is very materialistic. It’s not ‘Word…Life’. O has to decide whether he likes jewelry, fine women, and nice clothes. I know that part of him but, at that time in the game, it seemed like everybody was doing that because that was what everybody was doing. We’re known to go against the grain and a lot of fans were complaining when he did ‘Bon Appetit’. I think he should do whatever he wants to do as long as he puts his heart and soul into it. If he did it just to make a quick dollar, I’m not with it. If his heart told him to do it, I’m fully supporting it. He’s a creative dude. He’s a dope emcee and I love what he’s doing. I could love you and be away from you at the same time. I’m not going to sit and argue with you. I’m not going to keep wondering why you are mad at me, when I all I want to do is put you on a record. I know him from living next to Monch but, I don’t know this mother fucker. He didn’t grow up in the projects with me. He lived around the corner from the projects. That makes no difference to me. He didn’t grow up with me. I looked out for him because he’s a dope ass fucking emcee.”

T.JONES: "When creating a song, do you have a set theme or pre-written lyrics? Or, do you write to the beat?"
PRINCE PO: “Both ways. I’ve had ideas and wrote for them. ‘9 X Out Of Ten’ was my rhyme. The actual chorus for that song was my rhyme for that song. Monch wanted to use that rhyme for the hook and wanted me to write another rhyme. It varies. Most of the time, I wrote to the beat and then, come up with the concept. For ‘Invetro’ and songs like ‘Black Sunday’, a lot of the written rhymes were from bits and pieces of little paragraphs that were written before. When the track was put together, we just put it to it.”

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite Organized Konfusion album?”
PRINCE PO: “I would say ‘Stress’, but coming right up next to it is ‘The Equinox’. The album, ‘The Equinox’ did not get a lot of write ups. Some people didn’t like it that much because there were a lot of skits. I like ‘The Equinox’ because of the effort we put into it. It’s such a different record. We even went out and ordered $600 worth of Hollywood sounds from moviemakers out here in Cali, just to put in those skits. A lot of those sounds, like the car noises, are professional movie sounds. We paid money for it. We put it together and had people come in to do the voiceovers. It’s like a ‘Pulp Fiction’ story. Where it starts is where it ends. The album is just creative to me. A lot of people slept on it. To me, the most slept on shit or the most underrated shit, would always be my favorite shit.”

T.JONES: "Who are some people you would like to collaborate with in the future?"
PRINCE PO: “Jay Dee. I did work with Large Professor. I like 9th Wonder, who is coming up now. I think Kev Brown is dope. Also, Rhettmatic, The Beat Junkies, and Hershey P, who is down with Nasty Habits. Shafir. Man, there’s a host of niggas! I want to work with DJ Quik too. He’s a different type of dude. I’m just on some weird shit. I would like to work with George Clinton. I’ve got a weird, eclectic vibe of who I would like to work with. To each is own. Even if I would work with somebody in Cam’Ron’s crew, I would like to work with Juelz Santana. I like some of the shit he says. I like different styles. Everyone talks about commercial versus underground. You are only underground until you sell a million copies. Once you sell a million copies, you go commercial? That’s stupid! If Common goes platinum, he’s not underground anymore? That’s crazy!.”

T.JONES: “Who have you been listening to lately?”
PRINCE PO: “Actually, everybody I just mentioned. Rhettmatic, Kev Brown, 9th Wonder, Pete Rock, some of the Diplomats. One of the dopest, who I would like to work with on something special, is Jay-Z. Even when Nas and Jay-Z had the battle, your opinion could be that Nas won, but in what perspective did he win? Nas is a certain type of emcee to me. Jay-Z is a certain type of emcee to me. They are not even in the same category. I love Nas and I got to give the brother love from the borough of Queens, but Jay-Z does a lot of collaborations while Nas doesn’t. To me, that takes away from someone being a dope emcee. Making a dope collaboration with somebody is where Jay-Z kicked his ass. Jay-Z can adjust and do songs with different people. That is part of the versatility of being an emcee. Nas is versatile on topics and different things to talk about. Nas is definitely intelligent on the lyrics. We will always be able to listen to his music for years to come. I like Jay-Z because he can do a song with Talib Kweli and then, turn around and make a song with Linkin Park. That’s a true fucking emcee! That’s versatility! I like a lot of the Nas collaborations but I don’t think he collabs as well. To me, that’s one thing that he’s not better at than Jay-Z. Everybody says that Nas kicked Jay-Z’s ass but a lot of people don’t know things. People don’t know that in ‘Do It Again (Get Your Hands Up)’, he said some shit on there to Nas. ‘Three cuts in your eyebrows / trying to wild out. The game is ours. We’ll never foul out / Y'all just better hope we gracefully bow out.’ To me, that’s just as dope as ‘Either’, but you couldn’t tell anybody in New York that it wasn’t. To each is own. I like both emcees. They are both kings of New York. Fuck that one king shit!”

T.JONES: "Where were you during September 11th terrorist attack? How did you deal with it?"
PRINCE PO: “In 9-11, I was in Southside Queens. WPLX, Channel 11 went out because it was on top of The World Trade Center. At the time, I didn’t pay it no mind and went back to sleep until one of my neighbors knocked on my door and told me what happened. My man G.I. Joe, who runs with Diggin In The Crates, saw the 2nd plane hit from his window, in The Bronx. I just felt the tension from everything that was going down. It was a shocker to me.”

T.JONES: "What was the last incident of racism you experienced?"
PRINCE PO: “It was when I was getting on a plane. You know the lady who checks the tickets before you walk down the corridor to get on the plane? I asked her if 1st class was crowded. She said, ‘If you were flying 1st class, you wouldn’t have to worry about it.’ I just ignored her. If I didn’t, I would have cursed her ass out. I don’t give a fuck if you are mad about your job. Somebody else wants to do it. Your hell is somebody’s heaven. Who gives a fuck about what you think, your theories, or if I should be flying first class? I just ignored her, walked away, and didn’t acknowledge her existence. I thought it was a very ignorant thing to say, but that’s how the world is. I have neighbors here, in Burbank, California. When I talk with them and they ask me questions, I can tell that they didn’t grow up among Black people. I can’t be mad at them because that was just the way they were brought up. I’m definitely going to educate them on who we are. I’m going to let them know that every mother fucker doesn’t have to have a chain around his neck to show his worth. We’ve been worth a lot of money even before money came into play. I just try to walk with my head high and try to spread love no matter what color people are. Ignorance don’t have a color. She was an ignorant fucking lady who will be there for the next 20 years of her life, tearing those goddamn tickets.”

T.JONES: "What are some major misconceptions that people have of you?"
PRINCE PO: “Wow! That’s a good question, Todd. A lot of independent labels aren’t stepping to me because I was on Priority .They must think I’m looking for $180,000 advance. I think people have the misconception of the type of grinder I am. I’m into getting in those streets and selling records. The little record labels must think that I’m looking for a major deal when all I want to do is move units. Over the years, when people don’t see you, but you pop back on the scene with a nice shirt and nice sneakers, they look at you. They think, ‘What happened to you? Are you alright?’ I guess that if I was wearing sneakers with holes and looked cracked out, it would be alright because I’m not making records, as far as them not seeing it. Over the years, I was studying sampler ands computers. I was learning the programs by myself. I was educating myself on being computer literate. This made people have the misconception that I fell off. They may think that I’m hustling because I look the same and wear nice clothes. That’s because my fans are devoted to me and I was still doing shows solo. I am still doing features solo. I am still producing. It was a blessing. When people don’t see you on T.V., they automatically think that you are cracked out, hungry, or sleeping in the park.”

T.JONES: “Did drugs ever influence your music?”
PRINCE PO: “Cats smoke a little bit of greeny weed. This whole new era of E pills is cool but it’s not for everybody. Out here, there’s a saying that niggas a fizzed out. For me, I’m horny and want to touch something normally. I don’t need to take pills to do it but I’m not mad at anybody who bug out and have fun. To each is own, but those pills have other shit it them.”

T.JONES: “You’re from Queens but you are in California now?”
PRINCE PO: “I’m in Burbank, California. I’ve been in the valley for about 3 months.”

T.JONES: “Many emcees from New York move out there to California. How is the hip-hop scene different out there?”
PRINCE PO: “Honestly, there’s no difference, but there is more of what is, out here. When you talk about Los Angeles, California, you are talking about the size of New York state. Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland have a whole other following of people. There are so many people to reach out to at one time and in one spot. New York is definitely the epicenter of hop-hop, not just because it was born there. It’s not the biggest place to sell records but you have to get the ‘Okay’ from New York to tell you that your record is dope. If New York thinks your record is wack, your record isn’t going anywhere. That is a part New York plays. Cali plays a part too. Once New York says your record is dope, you better have a dope show in Cali. If your show is wack in L.A., they’ll fuck with you. If your show is dope, people will let you expand more. They will appreciate your creativity and how you make music. It’s dope. There’s more shit to get into out here.”

T.JONES: “Does recording in Los Angeles have a different creative effect or stimuli than recording in New York?”
PRINCE PO: “I’m looking for any deal, not a major. Hypothetically, if someone gave me $400,000 to do an album, I would have to do half or most of the songs on the East Coast, but I would also have to do a significant part of the album on the West Coast. I’m on some different shit. Fuck the palm trees! I’m into the sun coming up in the morning, the smell of wet grass, and nature. If you wake up at 8 in the morning with the sun coming up, you get that energy. You get that vibe. It has to do with nothing else but nature. 80% of ‘The Slickness’ album was written in California, at Danger Mouse’s house. It gave the LP a different vibe than the other shit I have done. I would definitely record in both spots. I would also record down South or Midwest. Chicago, Atlanta, or Texas. There are different vibes when you go places. People go through the same struggles. You can meet beautiful ass people everywhere. The nature, the atmosphere, and the people all make up where I am at. That is why I would have to keep it versatile.”

T.JONES: “Your music has many themes about overcoming struggles. There are uplifting sentiments about getting by and maintaining through life. Songs like ‘Maintain’, ‘Stress’, and ‘Be Easy’ help people get through hard days. The song, ‘Maintain’ was especially moving for me. Was this intentional?
PRINCE PO: “The main thing was that it is for cats like you. You are like the three hundredth person who told me that the ‘Stress’ album helped them get through rough times. They always specifically name that song, ‘Maintain’ too. That album was recorded when a lot of stuff was going on. We lost Monch’s father. He passed away during that time. He was a very big influence on our life. Not only was death hard, but we were also dealing with the record labels. We were struggling and arguing with the labels, and trying to satisfy the record labels. We had to make sure we could eat. It became hard. We just wanted to make a record and see how many people go through what we go through. Not everything is peaches and cream. We got a response from that record. The record shows that we went through a lot of shit. Hollywood Records had to let us go. They weren’t doing the full job that they were supposed to do. They didn’t understand the music or where we came from. They were putting all of these boujie ass people. I don’t give a fuck what color people are. Boujie people are Black too. We have a lot of Boujie ass Black people. Problems don’t have a color. You can be white, Indian, or whatever. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are going to get challenged and face turmoil. You have to learn how to adjust and live with people. I have white people who I have looked out for me just as well as my Black friends. Am I supposed to treat them different when they looked out for me exactly the same way? No! One of my roommates out here in Burbank is a white kid. I don’t give a shit what color you are! I’m going to tell the truth and pull no punches. You just have to have a certain type of etiquette and have some respect for each other. Accept the fact that we are all different! Black people are different from each other. We are not all the same.”

T.JONES: “You just need to be yourself.”
PRINCE PO: “Exactly! I grew up with all types of people but I have met people out here who are some of the best neighbors anyone could have. I actually sat down and had conversations with them. They never grew up with Black people. I can’t expect them to know everything or not say some things that may be offensive because they grew up in a certain part of Texas where there weren’t any Black people. It’s my job and my duty to educate them because I don’t want them running around thinking that all we do is say, ‘Yo! Yo! What’s up B?’, grab our nuts, and wear our hats sideways all the time.’ When I see white kids wearing their hats sideways and talking that way, I can’t tell them not to do that because they could have grown up doing that. It didn’t come up from Black culture. It came from hip-hop culture, which is color-blind.”

T.JONES: “Tell us about this new solo album coming out?”
PRINCE PO: “I produced a lot of stuff on it. There’s not just me though. I have Jazimoto, who is a female. My group, GBG did beats too. I get beats from The Beat Junkies, Rhettmatic, everybody. Everywhere I go, I get beat CDs. It’s becoming so crazy that everybody I speak to is doing beats. I would say that 60% of the entire universe is involved in hip-hop culture in one form or another. I’m not hating on it, but it is getting out of hand. I miss talking to people who want to be lawyers or doctors. That’s where it is getting a little tasteless. Everybody is doing beats. I got four beat CDs up in the Bay Area. Out of the four, only one of the shits are dope. The other three are horrible. I don’t give a fuck how they feel about it. The shit is horrible. But at the same time, those dudes may be able to fix a car, build an engine, or create the next invention that makes life easier. Everybody has to find what they can specialize in. Every human is a specialist, but everybody is not made to do music or do beats. Ten years ago, everybody was trying to get into the N.B.A. and play basketball. Now, everybody’s rapping. I may call my mom and she may tell me that she’s rapping now. It’s getting out of hand. Nobody wants to be a lawyer, doctor, or a specialist. I try to comb through what is creative. If don’t think it is creative, I throw that shit in the garbage. I’m not going to come to New Jersey and fix your car. I can change oil and take it to get a tune up, but I cannot fix a car. I can respect that. If I take it to Funkmaster Flex and he starts talking about engines, he will be the one to educate me. I know a little but I don’t know all of that shit. Everyone has to find where they belong and find their position in life. A lot of these motherfuckers should not be making beats! One of these shits, I threw it away and got so mad because he wasted his time going to get equipment. The music thing comes from a natural existence of where you were born.”

T.JONES: “The final Organized Konfusion LP, ‘The Equinox’ was released on Priority Records. What happened with Priority Records?”
PRINCE PO: “They gave us a deal and knew that we needed promotion and attention. It was all good at first, but people started going on vacation. I realized that Master P sold hundreds of thousands of records on his own. Priority was a street record label to me.  They weren’t respecting us coming there as humble men who wanted to do business. They only respected us when we shouted and wanted to choke somebody for not doing their job. Our job was done by going into the studio and pouring out our fucking hearts. Our job was to make dope music for people all over the world. In the middle of the project, the contract ended with the distribution situation. You can’t sign a contract with a record label unless you find out what their distribution is like. Two weeks after the LP came out, Priority loses their distribution deal. Then, we had to wait through the process of getting a new distribution deal to pick up. During that time, we found out that the record wasn’t even in the stores. Then, we found out that the head of promotions was on vacation for three weeks! Then, the street promotion people didn’t have anyone to guide them on what they had to do. I’m an artist! I’m not supposed to teach cats how to promote the record, what stores the record should be in, and how many spins we get on the radio. I’m an artist. That doesn’t mean I have to coordinate the other side of the project. We asked them for a release and they gave it to us. They didn’t do the job that they were supposed to.”

T.JONES: “Did you think ‘The Equinox’ LP was misunderstood?”
PRINCE PO: “I think it was misunderstood because people didn’t get a chance to see it for what it was. We did some powerful things. We did the Vibe television show. BET and MTV gave us support. At the time, record labels wanted to hire outside companies to do other shit. The labels didn’t want to do the footwork to get the money. That’s cool, because that’s what it’s all about. Get the money. When you hire other corporations to do that and your distribution is fucked up, it gets tricky. We were a group who busted our asses. We slept in the parking lot of BET because Priority didn’t have hotel rooms for us. We knew what we had to do. Still, artists can’t sell a record any more than what the record label wants to sell. ‘The Equinox’ was misunderstood. It just didn’t get a chance to live like it should have.”

T.JONES: “What advice would you give to someone coming up in the music industry?”
PRINCE PO: “Get on the grind for what you know. Nobody owes you shit! Stop thinking that just because your block told you that you are dope, the industry is supposed to let you in. It doesn’t go that way. You have to walk your dogs. Monch and I would actually read the back of records and then, go to the labels. You can’t do that anymore. You have to find a new way of doing it. Be determined and believe in yourself. If you really feel that you are dope and have something to offer the game, do it. And please, stop writing like everybody else! I heard the shit already! Come out with some shit that no one has heard before! Try to be creative and original. All that recycling shit is done with. There are 5 million rappers all over the fucking world. Give the people something different. Say something, whether it is a message, if it is encouragement, or even if you are pissed off and have to vent. Listen to other people’s shit so you don’t sound like them. Give them an ear so you can be a creative person. Do what you believe in. If you believe in yourself and have talent, go for it, but please, offer something different to the hip-hop community, so it can continue to grow. Touching Black did a song called ‘Asphalt’, which is for the skaters. This is not for the motherfuckers in a Benz who like their chains. This is for skaters who like hip-hop. He just talks about how skaters love what they do. He talks about how gangsters have it twisted because these skaters have gats in their knapsack with extra clips for extra picks. You have skaters, bikers, b-boys who break, graffiti artists, and more. All of those are part of hip-hop. If we don’t continue to build, then hip-hop should die. Hip-hop will never die as long as we continue to do it how it was done in the first place. That means being creative and being original. Organized Konfusion didn’t sound like A Tribe Called Quest. Leaders Of The New School didn’t sound like Black Sheep. We all did shows together and broke bread together. It was friendly competition. There was love! Even if we didn’t have Busta on the album, we could still sit with him, break bread, smile, laugh, and talk because we were all contributors to the hip-hop culture.”

T.JONES: “You did some non-hip-hop collaborations?”
PRINCE PO: “One of my neighbors, Chaz West, sings with the drummer from Black Sabbath, and a guitarist from ZZ Top. We collaborated and did this rock song called, ‘I Got A Right To Know’. It sounds a little like ‘Why’ by Jadakiss. I’m asking these questions like, ‘Why do I have to say that I’m African-American on an application?’ At the end of the application, it says that the company is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an equal opportunity employer, what difference does it make what color I am? Jada did asked a lot of important questions on his song. I had an idea similar to that and decided to do it anyway. It’s still different. In Jada’s hook, they are singing ‘Why?’. In my hook, Chaz is sings, ‘I got a right to know’. That’s why I’m asking these questions. I do have a right to know. Large Professor did the track.”

T.JONES: “Madlib produced a couple of tracks on ‘The Slickness’ LP. How is Madlib different from some of the other producers?”
PRINCE PO: “Madlib is a very eclectic dude. This dude loves working with me. I never had to ask him for beats. He’d give me a beat CD with 30 or 40 beats and it was hard to pick only 2 or 3 songs from them. He’s a very eclectic dude. I only worked in the studio with him once. He did 3 songs on ‘The Slickness’ album and I only was in the studio with him once. That lets you know something. It’s just weird. He’s not weird. It’s a weird situation. I’m usually a hands-on person when I’m working with producers. Also, I don’t like to force shit. I like things to be natural. If he’s naturally not working with anybody, personally except for people, like J Dilla and Oh No, let it be. In the future, that may stop. He’ll get his ass in the studio with me. He ain’t going to tell me that he’s a fan of my music and I’m a fan of his while we are playing this cute tip-toe around thing. We’re going to meet up. We have to get in there together, build, and feel each other out. That’s the way hip-hop is supposed to be.”

T.JONES: “What were some songs that made you fall in love with hip-hop?”
PRINCE PO: “The song, ‘One Love’ by Whodini. Also, ‘Five Minutes Of Funk’. I loved a lot of songs on Run-Dmc’s ‘Raising Hell’ album. Spoonie G, Kool Moe Dee’s ‘Feel The Heartbeat’. That whole park jam era when I was a kid.”

T.JONES: “Word association. When I say a name, you say the first word that pops into your head. So, if I said ‘Public Enemy’, you may say, ‘Revolution’ or ‘Fight The Power’.”
PRINCE PO: “Right.”

T.JONES: “Del The Funkie Homosapian.”
PRINCE PO: “Mr. Bob Dobalina.”

T.JONES: “Phife Dawg.”
PRINCE PO: “The 5 Footer. He’s a dope live performer!”

T.JONES: “Eminem.”
PRINCE PO: “8 Mile.”

T.JONES: “Pharoahe Monch.”
PRINCE PO: “Agent Orange.”

T.JONES: “Wu-Tang Clan.”
PRINCE PO: “Loyalty.”

T.JONES: “Jamiroquai.”
PRINCE PO: “Eclectic but forgotten.”

T.JONES: “Common.”
PRINCE PO: “Realness.”

T.JONES: “Curtis Mayfield.”
PRINCE PO: “Superfly.”

T.JONES: “Marvin Gaye.”
PRINCE PO: “Trouble Man.”

T.JONES: “Whodini.”
PRINCE PO: “Jhalil. I love him to death, my brother.”

T.JONES: “Smokey Robinson.”
PRINCE PO: “The Apollo.”

T.JONES: “O.C.”
PRINCE PO: “Times Up.”

T.JONES: “Q-Tip.”
PRINCE PO: “One of the most eclectic dudes I have ever met in my life.”

T.JONES:  “De La Soul.”
PRINCE PO: “I love all of them, especially Mase.”

T.JONES: “Artifacts.”
PRINCE PO: “Touring together.”

T.JONES: “George Bush.”
PRINCE PO: “Confused and greedy.”

T.JONES: “What was ‘The Extinction Agenda’?”
PRINCE PO: “It’s basically like the new world order.”

T.JONES: “What was the song ‘Thirteen’ about?”
PRINCE PO: “It wasn’t about shit. 13 was Monch’s favorite number. 8 was my favorite number. If you listen to the song’s numbers, Monch is number 13 and I’m number 8. We even had jackets like a football team with our favorite numbers on the arm. 13 was his favorite number and his personal song for the album. We decided to do separate songs for the album and do something different. It’s dope. I love that song.”

T.JONES: “What is next for Prince Po?”
PRINCE PO: “I’m working on the ‘Pretty Black’ album. I have an artist named Touch Em Blak with the ‘Asphalt’ song. ‘The Lost Scrolls’ will be out in the stores hopefully after September. I’m putting it out by myself if I have to. I’m doing this totally independent. I’m looking for a distribution company who thinks I’m worthy to work with them. A lot of distribution companies front. A lot of these independent record labels are becoming like these majors. They are becoming really funny about who they sign. Some people are still keeping real with the eclectic shit. But, some are only doing things with certain people. It’s getting funny style with some of these indie labels. I’m just trying to put out records, move people, and move units. It’s love. We take it back to the street. I make them run up on cats, spit on them, and just hit em in the head. DJ’s? Promo directors? I smash them with the shit that is supposed to be played. I’m working on GBG’s shit. They’re just about finished. Everybody’s working on shit. I’m working close with everybody.”

T.JONES: “Any final words?”
PRINCE PO: “I think the interview went great, man. You asked me some real interesting questions. It’s dope. You asked some real creative and different questions, which is dope! Final words? I just want my fans to know that I love them to death and I didn’t go nowhere! I feel like I owe them much more than records. I owe them the proof that I’m sitting down and doing my homework. I thank them so much for supporting me. I don’t give a shit about anybody else except for the people who not only support the records, but live and understand what we are trying to do. They know life is ups and downs. You have ‘Maintain’ and you have ‘Let’s Organize’. It went back and forth. I want my fans to know that it will be a long time before I am done. I have much more coming!”

THANK YOU PRINCE PO!!!

Interview by Todd E. Jones aka New Jeru Poet
toddejones@yahoo.com

NOTICE: This interview is property of Todd E. Jones and cannot be duplicated or posted without written permission.

WEBSITES:
Prince Po’s NASTY HABITS MUSIC
http://www.nastyhabitsmusic.us/

http://www.lexrecords.com/

WARP Records
http://www.warprecords.com/

MP3
“Get Paper”
“Run With It”
“Too Much”

MP3 player featuring all the tracks from “The Slickness”