I don't know much about rap or hip hop. I'm a southern white girl, so what has popped up on my radar over the years is the same bullshit party rap everyone has heard. You down with OPP? No, not really. (Hey, that rhymes, too!)
Years and years ago, I saw Ozomatli perform. It totally opened my eyes to a whole new world of music. I had never in my life heard someone flow like Chali 2na. Since then, I have loved everything the man has touched. Jurassic 5 remains my absolute favorite hip hop act. They're in another orbit.
Seriously, this is the coolest motherfucker I've ever talked to.
You've been an outspoken critic of George Bush and the so-called War on Terror. As we prepare for a regime change, are you optimistic that we can turn things around?
Yeah, I'm optimistic. It's already a change that America has allowed a minority to be president. At one end of the spectrum in America's history, we were less than a human being. Now we're commander-in-chief. That's an amazing change. The death of the stupid American has happened. I hope everything changes. I know it's all politics so you never really know, but I am optimistic in seeing what might happen.
We, as a country, are notorious for turning a blind eye to basically everything. In your opinion, what are we completely ignoring right now that we should really be paying attention to?
Homelessness and poverty within our own country. The economic situations can show you how fucked up things are right now. The ad slogan for this country is- 'come fufill you're dreams! We're a melting pot!' But people are suffering here. Before we can fix anything else around the world, we have to fix what's here. We're in a situation of being the world police, so it's like who protects us from ourselves?
Do you think the world would be better off if we all shared the same ideology?
I think we all do, to tell you the truth. People want to be able to eat, clothe themselves, provide shelter. Those are the basic needs. We all think the same way. Ideology, religion, political stances...those things come in and dilute a man's decision. What he's gonna do and what he's not gonna do. Through traveling, you see it's the same situation everywhere. Some places are so much poorer than others, but the needs haven't changed. I mean, the 9th ward in New Orleans looks like Iraq without the soldiers. They've both been devastated.
You've always been known throughout your various projects as someone with a message. At this interesting time in history, what do you want to say to anyone who may be reading this?
I'm a God-fearing man. A lot of people may not believe the way I believe, but I believe there is a higher power and I put Him first. In order for us to... Jimi Hendrix said, "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." That's some heavy shit, and that's what I'm trying to convey more than anything.
Speaking of artists with a message, the hip hop genre has gone through a long period of nothing to talk about. While underground artists are doing some serious shit, the mainstream acts that become so popular are still rhyming about strip clubs and champagne. What do you think it will take for self-respecting hip hop to become the mainstream?
Mainstream exists because a majority dictates that it exists. For instance, you got a hundred people who don't want to make a choice of what they want to listen to, they just want to bop their head. Or they want to hear something that relates to a night activity and things that have nothing to do with everyday life. They will band together and say 'that's what I want to hear.' Then you have others who respect skills and artistry. But that's like 10 people. 10 vs. 100. So, what it takes for that to be the mainstream is a hundred people who think that way. I don't think nothin' is wasted. There's a lot of people who are in the strip clubs who think of women as bitches and hoes. Unfortunately, there's a lot of them. More of them than there are of us. It's not all bad though. Looking at it from a purely artistic perspective, some of it is good.
I'm excited about the re-issue. I was unfortunately a late-comer to Jurassic 5, so it's cool to be able to get the album I missed when it was first released. How does it feel promoting a re-issue for a project that no longer exists?
The group doesn't exist anymore, but we made music that will last forever. Thank God. We're ending where it all began. I'm happy that this is where we are. It's cool. Jurassic was one of the major stepping stones for all of us. I think it's going to be great for all of us to support this re-issue. We're not touring on it because we all have our own things goin on, but we all support keeping Jurassic 5 alive. It's been cool to do interviews and talk to people about it. At our own individual shows we'll get feedback from fans saying they loved the documentary or the extra tracks. People seem satisfied and that's been really gratifying.
No one ever gives a straight answer to this, but as a journalist, I have to ask. Why did Jurassic 5 break up?
Internal reasons. From where I'm standing, we did this for 14 years. For about 9 or 10 of those years, there were weird feelings between some of the guys. Instead of dealing with it, we as a group let that shit fester and some decisions were made out of the festering. My part in it is just, you know, I guess equal to everyone else when it comes to what broke us up. I'm not about to air someone's dirty laundry. I'm not going to pick up someone's shorts and show you his doo doo streak. We just didn't take care of the problems when they came up and it turned into a cancer.
Fair enough. So, I can't believe I didn't already know this, but you're an incredible painter! Are you able to dedicate much time to your art?
No! I'm not even gonna front.
[laughs] I got into hip hop through graffiti. I'm getting older now and the laws are starting to not be in our favor, so I had to slow down on the criminal activity aspect. I would write poems and things to maximize my painting, but I didn't start out rapping.
I'll tell you this- I had already been deep into the scene in Chicago. Maybe 3 years deep. This was...1983, maybe. I had a couple friends who could freestyle. It was tight, but they were like comedians about it. They weren't taking shit that serious. They would crack jokes about each other and make people look bad. One night, I was the butt of the jokes. It was killin me. This girl I liked, Tasha, was there and these guys played me like a fiddle. I was so embarrassed. So I thought, "I'm gonna write something and get these guys back." I waited for them to be freestyling around me again, and then I did it. There were a lot of girls there, too, so I definitely got them back.
About a year later, I heard 'The Message' from Grand Master Flash. I was like 'wow, this guy isn't talking about color TV, he's talking about reality. He's talking about the dirt I gotta get through just to get to my house!' Everyone learned that song. It really hit me in the chest. This is real. Talkin' bout some realness! That's the mission I've been on ever since- to make someone feel the way I felt when I heard that song.
What's something you want to do, but haven't done?
End racism.
What's stopping you? [laughs] One man can't do it alone! Obama is the President, but we got people on YouTube talkin' bout 'fuck that nigger...Barack HUSSEIN.' Racism is a symptom of the problem, it's not the problem.
So, what now, Charlie?
I'm just happy to be alive. I'm trying to do as much music and painting as I can before I leave this place. Hopefully I'll have many more opportunities to spread goodness.
[laughs]
In March of '09, I'm releasing
Fish Outta Water. Right now I'm with Ozomatli, tryin' to reach through that flame. I didn't want to leave the band at the time, I just wanted to separate from the business. On both sides, from Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, they were both trippin' cause I was trying to do both things at once. I never wanted to leave Ozomatli. It's great to reunite and to tour. We all love what the group is about, so it's only right that we can get together and make that thing happen. We've been playing some new tunes. It's really great.
J5: Deluxe Re-Issue IN STORES and on ITUNES NOW!
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Chali 2na
