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Interview: Kardinal Offishall (Pt. 2)
Interview: Kardinal Offishall (Pt. 2)
- Genre : More Music
- Type: News
- Author : Super Admin
- Date : Fri, 11 Jul 2008
You've gotten the chance to travel the world and experience a lot of different perspectives. It's easy to come down on America, but we obviously have some things going for us since we can take this step. Do you think any of the negative feelings about this country are ever misplaced, or are all the detractors dead on?
America is everything to everybody. It's the worst of the worst, but it's also the best of the best. That's something that's amazing about America, but it's also something that's been killing your reputation around the world. One of the places I've gotten to visit that was so dope was Cuba. It was like a mythical place. Based on what I'd heard about it, I didn't know what to expect when I got there. You get a lot of Americans coming down on Cuba, and you even get a lot of Cubans coming down on it. But my experience was dope. Although they don't allow people to prosper as much as we think they should, culturally, I think they are more nationalistic than Americans are. Whether you're black, white or Latin, all Cubans there are for Cuba. I'd never really been to a place like that before. I know Castro has his issues, and a lot of people are struggling, but the thing that's beautiful is the spirit that the people have. In tragedy, Americans are for Americans, otherwise it's every man for himself. It's good for me, because it allows me to come here and make some cake too, but people are really out for delph. I'm no communist or anything, but when you go to Cuba and you can see that the community is really for the community it's an amazing thing. You need to experience it yourself and not just rely on the propaganda you read. Plus, I'd never been to a place that had billboards of George Bush holding a gun with devil horns. Being a pseudo-revolutionary, that was dope to me.
It's good when you can cut through the ideology and get to see things for yourself.
This goes for hip hop, but it really applies to being a person of the world in general. The more you travel the world and get to see things first hand, that's the best way to experience anything. That's the best education.
That relates to the way some people who are coming down on hip hop lyrics have never even seen some of the places rappers talk about, even though it's in their own country. What's your take on the situation?
To me, I don't know why rappers like to just take the easy way out. When you look at a lot of these people who could get out there and help the community, it might require that they wake up at 4AM to go take a flight and talk to some kids somewhere, but they aren't willing to do that. Then they get mad when people point out the things they say in their lyrics. But straight up and down, if you look at a lot of what we say in our songs, we are talking crazy, and we are a definite detriment. But if that's what you do, just admit it. All I'm saying is take responsibility. Look at someone like Lil Wayne. He said a lot of crazy things on his album, but he also said some thoughtful things that people needed to hear. He's on track to sell a million records, and I definitely bought his album and love it, but there are a lot of people who are going to hear some real talk because of him. If he made a record full of revolutionary songs, it wouldn't be a Wayne record, but I'm glad he did say the things that he said. I think if a lot more rappers were like Wayne and took the time out to say some shit that people need to hear, it'd be a lot better for the genre. He said things that not only politicians need to hear, but that people in the hood need to hear. Those people respect him and might listen to what he has to say. As rap cats, we get to kick it with each other behind the scenes, and a lot of rappers are actually very intelligent. They have good things to say, but if you just listened to their music, you'd think that they were the most ignorant people on earth. So
America is everything to everybody. It's the worst of the worst, but it's also the best of the best. That's something that's amazing about America, but it's also something that's been killing your reputation around the world. One of the places I've gotten to visit that was so dope was Cuba. It was like a mythical place. Based on what I'd heard about it, I didn't know what to expect when I got there. You get a lot of Americans coming down on Cuba, and you even get a lot of Cubans coming down on it. But my experience was dope. Although they don't allow people to prosper as much as we think they should, culturally, I think they are more nationalistic than Americans are. Whether you're black, white or Latin, all Cubans there are for Cuba. I'd never really been to a place like that before. I know Castro has his issues, and a lot of people are struggling, but the thing that's beautiful is the spirit that the people have. In tragedy, Americans are for Americans, otherwise it's every man for himself. It's good for me, because it allows me to come here and make some cake too, but people are really out for delph. I'm no communist or anything, but when you go to Cuba and you can see that the community is really for the community it's an amazing thing. You need to experience it yourself and not just rely on the propaganda you read. Plus, I'd never been to a place that had billboards of George Bush holding a gun with devil horns. Being a pseudo-revolutionary, that was dope to me.
It's good when you can cut through the ideology and get to see things for yourself.
This goes for hip hop, but it really applies to being a person of the world in general. The more you travel the world and get to see things first hand, that's the best way to experience anything. That's the best education.
That relates to the way some people who are coming down on hip hop lyrics have never even seen some of the places rappers talk about, even though it's in their own country. What's your take on the situation?
To me, I don't know why rappers like to just take the easy way out. When you look at a lot of these people who could get out there and help the community, it might require that they wake up at 4AM to go take a flight and talk to some kids somewhere, but they aren't willing to do that. Then they get mad when people point out the things they say in their lyrics. But straight up and down, if you look at a lot of what we say in our songs, we are talking crazy, and we are a definite detriment. But if that's what you do, just admit it. All I'm saying is take responsibility. Look at someone like Lil Wayne. He said a lot of crazy things on his album, but he also said some thoughtful things that people needed to hear. He's on track to sell a million records, and I definitely bought his album and love it, but there are a lot of people who are going to hear some real talk because of him. If he made a record full of revolutionary songs, it wouldn't be a Wayne record, but I'm glad he did say the things that he said. I think if a lot more rappers were like Wayne and took the time out to say some shit that people need to hear, it'd be a lot better for the genre. He said things that not only politicians need to hear, but that people in the hood need to hear. Those people respect him and might listen to what he has to say. As rap cats, we get to kick it with each other behind the scenes, and a lot of rappers are actually very intelligent. They have good things to say, but if you just listened to their music, you'd think that they were the most ignorant people on earth. So
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