Vibe.com, August 19th, 2004
It's been almost six years since your last collaboration as a group. Does this new album contain the intrinsic values and beliefs of Brand Nubian (i.e. religion and politics)?
It's part of our life; you knowÂ…it is our life. The reality and things that's going on in society, that's what we talk about, you knowÂ…keeping it balanced.
How does it feel to be "Veterans" of the music industry, holding an established group career of 15 years?
As far as rap goes yeah we feel like veterans all that type sh*t, we don't feel old, but we definitely seen a lotÂ…We seen people come and go in this industryÂ…You can learn but so much from someone in a certain amount of years but you can learn a lot more from someone that's been there for years.
This new album is entitled Fire In The Hole. Is there any political, religious or philosophical meaning behind the title?
I mean it's fire in the hole, you know it means like prepare yourselfÂ…you could take that however you want to take that-musically, et cetera, you naah mean? It's just fire in the hole that's what we want it to be about.
So it could be like you're warning the industry to look out or beware of Brand Nubian, the next big group to hit the scene once again.
Fire in the hole man.
To recap, 1989 spawned the creation of the aforementioned group, Brand Nubian. While as a collective they embraced the New York suburb of New Rochelle, fans throughout the New York area embraced Brand Nubian's music. Grand Puba (born Maxwell Dixon), Sadat X (born Derek Murphy), Lord Jamar (born Lorenzo DeChalus) and DJ Alamo (Sadat's cousin) made up the original Brand Nubian cell. The group signed with Elektra and released their debut album All for One in 1990, with hit singles such as "All for One," and "Slow Down." In 1993, Lord Jamar and Sadat X with the efforts of DJ Sincere (born Terrence Perry) released Brand Nubian's second album, In God We Trust that produced the hit single, "Punks Jump up to Get Beat Down." Again with only the two original members (Lord Jamar & Sadat X), Brand Nubian followed up in 1994 with the album, Everything Is Everything, which depicted the struggles of poverty and unjust tribulations that have been affecting the urban cities in the United States. In 1998, with the regrouping of the original four members of Brand Nubian, Foundation was released under Arista and received with high acclaim and positive reviews. With a healthy resume consisting of two major labels, four well respected albums and a slew of individual projects (i.e. Lord Jamar's acting career and Sadat X and Grand Puba's solo rap careers), Brand Nubian is now releasing its fifth album with the indie label Babygrande Records. Former Priority Records A&R; Executive, Chuck Wilson, founded Babygrande Records, the New York based indie label. The label has since developed a roster of well-known artists from hip-hop's underground scene such as Jean Gray and Canibus.
Brand Nubian's first three albums were recorded with Elektra Records, the fourth with Arista Records, both of which are major labels. However this fifth album is with Babygrande Records, an indie label that has been steadily on an upward bound. What made Brand Nubian sign with Babygrande Records?
Yeah, umm, it just didn't work out at those places man. I mean the type of music we do and the type of group we are, we don't really fit in [to a] corporate structure I mean where the radio and you know I mean they concentrate more on the sales than, than the artistry of what you're doin'. I mean the records is good and all that but I mean the fact is we'd have to be other than ourselves to sell that type of recordÂ…we on an independent label not telling us we need to make records like this or like that.
Since I can remember Grand Puba you were one of the first, if not the innovator of certain styles that are resurfacing today, such as Kanye West and the backpacks and polos or Ja-Rule and the singing melodies. What do think of rappers that are using these styles?
Grand Puba: As far as the backpack yeah you can credit that to me, but as far as the singing-melodies rap I actually derived that from Slick Rick. It's basically the same thing being done over-and-over again just at different times. And it's a good thing because it shows me that what I did back then can still be relevant for use in today's music line-up.
Grand Puba and Sadat, you came out with your own individual projects. However, Lord Jamar you're the only one that hasn't, but you're also the only one that has gone into acting. How was that for you going into acting and how is it different, I mean is it different from hip-hop?
Lord Jamar: It's different in a way, but then there are a lot of similarities with music.
Let's flashback to 1990 - I'm talking high-top fades and geometric cuts, pending war in Iraq (sounds familiar, doesn't it), and hip hop becoming a lasting genre in modern day music. Enter Grand Puba, Sadat X, and Lord Jamar better known as Brand Nubian. With their politically and socially conscious lyrics and left of center way of story telling, they became a standout group. Since they're debut on Elektra over a decade ago, they've changed record labels, and taken time to pursue other interests, but they've never stopped making music, and haven't let issues that affect other groups-such as solo projects-damage their cohesive bond. Speaking with them about the state of hip hop today, and their position as pioneers, it is evident that they realize not only their contribution, but also the contribution of all hip hop artists in the industry. However, they do cite that originality in the game is lacking. Sadat goes on to say, "Back in the day, you never really wanted to sound like another personÂ…but now, you know, I guess that's what they're [record execs] going for." With hip hop pioneers and Black Conscious Teachers like Brand Nubian back in the game maybe we'll see some of the originality we once saw over a decade ago.
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