Witchdoctor – “Best Year“
from The Diary Of An American Witchdoctor (Williams Street / Adult Swim, 2007)
Witchdoctor – “Holiday (ONP Remix)“
from Heaven Comin’ 12? (Organized Noize/Interscope, 1998)

Bonus Beat: Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth – “Bad Mutha“
from Funky Technician (Wild Pitch, 1990)

So I recently got my Mrs. Rogers on, chopping it up with Dungeon Family alumnus and long time CB favorite Witchdoctor. His debut, 1998’s A SWAT Healin’ Ritual… was a masterpiece of murky mystical swamp water funk and the recently released Diary Of An American Witchdoctor continues in the tradition, compiling the string of indie releases that followed SWAT. Here EJ talks a little on the early days with the Dungeon Family, his new deal with Williams Street/Adult Swim Records and his Lord Finesse fandom. Hit the jump for the Qs & As

N: So how did you first get into rapping?
W: Well it kinda started from an evolution type of thing. In Atlanta, a long time ago, I guess it started from dancing first. From dancing back in the early 80s. The dancing evolved into the rapping, once the hip hop kinda popped up on the scene we started seeing all the new york and west coast rappers pop up on tv.

N: It seems like a lot of artists from Atlanta have roots in the dance scene. [Organized Noize, Toomp]
W: I would say, [in] my generation. I’m from an older generation from TI & Jeezy and. I guess hip hop was break dancing, we used to pop dance. Most of the people that was dancing back then are the people that’s doing beats now.

N: What were some of the records you guys were dancing to back in the day?
W: What got me really interested in hip hop was “Planet Rock” first. We used to pop and dance off of [that]. From that I pretty much listened to everybody that came out from New York back in the days, but one artist that kinda stuck with me was an artist named Lord Finesse. Lord Finesse and Redman, those artists were the ones that stood out to me as far as wordplay.

N: So when you started rhyming it was on the punchline tip then?
W: Yeah I was more on some punchlines. One of my favorite verses came from Lord Finesse. He had this rap that he used to say, it was the coldest thing I ever heard. Something like… I play emcees like a game of mario brothers / I hold my own plus I be carrying others. That rap there, that he said kinda helped pave my writing skills. That was one of the first raps that I just recorded in my head. I used to go around when I was younger and I’d say that rap before I started writing.

N: Now how’d you transition from doing punchline rap into more introspective type shit?
W: Well, just studying. I studied a lot of east coast rappers and west coast. I do a lot of writing myself. In a 24 hour day I pretty much spend like 10-15 hours writing and if I’m not writing I’m thinking about writing, so… Pretty much what I try to do is entertain myself first with the music I make, I try to please myself first and then release it.

N: Do you ever worry that mentality might hold you back commercially?
W: I’m pretty neutral, man. I can pretty much thrive under any atmosphere, any conditions. I do have a couple of commercial record, they’re just not being played. A record’s not commercial unless it’s being played. Wouldn’t nobody know it’s commercial until somebody on commercial radio starts playing.

N: Is that still a goal for you at this point, to get records on the radio?
W: I’m more of an album cat, I would prefer people to get the album. Sometimes I use a lot of strong language, so I’m not necessarily worried about radio. I remember a long time ago when Ice Cube came out, I didn’t give a damn whether Ice Cube had a song on the radio or a video, we was gonna go get the album. I always wanted to be looked at as that type of artist.

N: So how did you first link up with the Dungeon Family?
W: A few of us knew each other before the music thing jumped off. I went to Mays High School. Khujo went to Mays, T-Mo, Cee-Lo, Gipp. Me and Khujo was on the football team. A couple of us just knew each other growing up.

N: Were you guys making music together in high school?
W: Well I have always been a solo artist. Khujo and T-mo was a group, Cee-Lo was solo. Gipp was in a group called East Point Chain Gang with Cool Breeze. But since we went to school together we was always associated with each other. Because back then when we was trying to come out there wern’t too many outlets in Atlanta. Pretty much everybody ran into each other from time to time.

N: What’s your relationship with those guys now?
W: I haven’t spoke with anybody lately, I’m pretty the same. Our relationship has always been the same, we always knew it was a music business relationship too. The last I’ve heard everybody’s pretty much working on solo projects.

N: I feel like the vibe of the first wave of those first few records really holds through to your current work.
W: Well one thing I always knew that was gonna help me keep longevity in the business was me concentrating on emceein, making sure that whether I had a record out or a video out or anything. The way I sound, it sound like I’m going for the title. I want to sound like I have a record deal even if I don’t have one. I’mma make sure the music be just as edgy as the top emcee in the game. That always was my strong point, being a lyricist. Just straight, raw lyrics.

N: How’d you feel about the promotion of SWAT Healin’ Ritual?
W: Like I said, back then it was so hard for a southern rapper, solo, to get a major record deal, I looked at it as a blessing. It was me getting my feet wet. I didn’t make no money or become rich or nothing. But I did get my name out there. I got to see a few cities, and got on stage in a few places on my little promotional tour. Actually, what it did, it let me see what a lot of the superstars in atlanta are going through now. I went ahead of them, before them. But think about Interscope now – who are the artists that are over there – they’ve got Eminem, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre. These are some of the biggest characters in rap period. So Interscope is looked at as one of the top rap record companies in the world. And when I think about that, they used to have Witchdoctor signed. So when I think about that, that lets me know that I am one of the best. That helps my confidence.

N: After that record you got quiet on a national level, what have you been up to since then?
W: In between time, survival. When I say survival, that means having somewhere to live, making yourself happy, and I still gotta make music. I didn’t just give up. I kept making music, I released the King of The Beasts album and I knew it wouldn’t be too long until I was back knockin at rap’s door. Like I said, I am extremely confident in my raps. I feel like I’m one of the best in the world. I feel like I got the work to prove it. And only time gonna tell. If you a human being period and you listen to [The Diary...] I promise you somewhere along the way, you gonna want that next project. I’m just glad I got the opportunity with Williams Street/Adult Swim. I feel like I’m gonna help the rap game get interesting.

N: How did the Adult Swim deal come to be?
W: Before I got signed I was [on] the internet, I had all my albums for sale. Williams Street bought the King of The Beasts album and sent me an email that they maybe wanted to sit down and maybe start doing some work with [me]. So once I saw Turner entertainment beside their name, I just knew that was exactly what I was looking for. My name somewhere close to Ted Turner was intriguing. Once we sat down, I thought they was some good people, I thought they was honest. It was a perfect situation for me. They gonna be blessed that they even gave me an opportunity, a little light in the music industry. It’s so hard to get in the rap business, it’s like the NBA. You can’t just go play basketball and say you good, “I’m finna go play in the NBA.” It’s hard. I feel like William Street, Adult Swim, they did the right thing by signing me, bruh and I’m gonna prove it.

N: Are you going to be doing any tie ins with their TV outlet?
W: Well that’s gon’ come. I feel like the album we just dropped, having a successful album is going to open up doors for everything else. I’m a baseball player too, I’m not just a rap artist or a musician. I’m a baseball player, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to sign with Williams Street. When I saw Turner I saw baseball in the future. And as far as branching out I got a couple movies I want to write. I feel like having a successful album first is going to be a stepping stone to all that… I’m happy, man. I’m happy to even have an album out.

Diary of An American Witchdoctor is in stores now on Williams Street / Adult Swim. Witchdoctor also wants fans to know that he is on Myspace “24 hours a day,” so feel free to drop him a line.

Tags: Dungeon Family, Witchdoctor

This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 6:43 pm and is filed under Atlanta, Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.