With an intoxicating melody and a syncopated drum line, the production of P.C.P. Muzik is sure to make you feel “shermed out”. With a mixture of East Coast boom bap and down south screw the production coming from Primate and CamJay is a sound seldom heard from the ring tone rappers and cookie-cutter production that is saturating hip-hop nowadays. This is music for the people. People say hip-hop isn’t dead it just lives in the South, and hip-hop is alive and well in this Memphis duo.
JS: Ok, let’s get down to business. First things first, I’ve heard about the brand new Lutinent G single, what’s the deal? I’m sure its fire, but when can we hear it?
Primate (P): First off, we got up with Lutinent G’s manager via internet, and he liked our different sound. You know? Memphis is full of similarity, but we offer something different than the status quo. We sent more tracks to G, he listened to about a half dozen then set up a studio session, grabbed two for his upcoming release, and the rest is history. The new Lutinent G single, “Da Streets” is over one of our tracks.
CamJay (C): Its good to note that Lutinent G has a producer by the name of Sky and he (Lutinent G) didn’t want to fuck with us at first. He thought that our music was just going to be wack, but he heard us and then compared us to the Neptunes. He thinks we’re the future, which is great.
JS: You know, some people believe that the South is over-saturated with a lot of music that all sounds the same, how do you guys avoid the “dime a dozen” production that makes money but bad music, and how would you describe your sound?
P: I would describe us as a mix of my East Coast background combined with Cam’s Texas swag; it’s just a blend of two great hip-hop styles into one sound. I won’t listen to garbage music, so it won’t be in my music. I mean Virginia isn’t the Bronx, but my influences growing up were mainly from the East Coast.
C: I mean I’m so southern, but I’m not influenced by D4L, I’m influenced by real southern music, I mean, UGK, (rest in peace Pimp C), Scarface, Outkast, the real hip-hop. True hip-hop. The people that will still ring out thirty years from now. Our music is a perfect blend of East Coast with Primate’s background and my southern swag just adds something different, and hopefully our music can bring two conflicting groups together and ease the tension from coast to coast. I mean East Coast people will hear the vocal samples, the cuts, and enjoy it, and the Southern folk will hear the shuffles, bass, and drops and enjoy it. You gotta make music for the people, wherever their from.
JS: Primate, I hear that you are doing big things as a DJ as well, from working real close with Al Kapone, to starting the Legion DJ’s. What’s the deal?
P: Well, Al is a great influence, and working with someone like him is such a great opportunity, you know? But the Legion DJ’s is a worldwide DJ collective started by DJ Chev and myself which just recently performed at the Memphis Industry Showcase, an event which brought together a lot of artists in the Memphis area and the deeper south to showcase and network before the Southern Entertainment Awards. It went real well, CamJay came through and both P.C.P. Muzik and the Legion DJ’s were in full effect. Kapone, Frasier Boy were all there…Wendy Day, I mean everyone that is involved in the Memphis Hip-Hop movement. The Lutinent G track was played and it got a real good response, I mean it was at the New Daisy, which is definitely a historic venue.
JS: How’s the Memphis scene? Also, what do you all bring to the table, not being Memphis natives?
P: Memphis is strugglin’ you know? There is a lot of talent but no one supports each other. There is way too much competition, which usually breeds success; however there is a lot disconnection and a lack of unity that is dragging the city down. And to describe what I bring to the table, coming from Virginia, I listened to a huge medley of hip-hop and that mixture of sounds has influenced me from day one. I mean I’ll chop up a vocal sample for the East Coast emcees and then the next day I’ll make a track for the South. I just bring what I know to the table.
C: Yeah, I mean I’m a real Texan myself, but I’ll bring some influences from DJ Premier as well as Lil’ Jon for example. I mean people in Memphis are used to hearing the same music, beats, and lyrics. I mean the reason that Memphis isn’t as big as Miami or Atlanta is that they can’t unite. There needs to be a movement, I mean it may sound cliché, but “United we Stand, Divided we Fall”. I mean look at “I’m So Hood” all of Miami is together, unified. That doesn’t happen in Memphis. Yo Gotti, could be the biggest rapper out period, but he isn’t as big as he should be because of a lack of unification and support from his city. I mean what major artists are beefing in Florida? No one, but in Memphis it’s everywhere.
JS: So what’s next for P.C.P.? Any big plans in 2008?
P: Well, first off, big up to MixtapeKings.com, thanks for the opportunity to be featured on such a quality website. As for 2008, the Lutinent G single is coming out. Also, look for the new single produced by P.C.P. by Young Rufus called “She’s A Pro”. Hopefully we’ll start making a name for ourselves that’s more than just Memphis and maybe draw some attention nationally. Shout out to Big Phil and Soop, Skewby, DJ Chev, Dynamic Producer, and my people back in the 434.
C: There is no question about P.C.P. blowing up, it’ll happen. We’re just trying to stay positive and look out for the future. We love Hip-Hop, so we’re just trying to further ourselves and the art form. We don’t have time to hate on artists. I got a mixtape coming out called “Texas 2 Tennessee Vol. 1” hosted by P.C.P.’s own DJ Primate. We out here getting it, grinding, making beautiful muzik. Hopefully all our fans from “Texas 2 Tennessee” to Virginia will show support for all that we have cooking up for 2008. Last but not least I want to give a shout out to every single person in the 903 & the rest of the LONE STAR STATE.
If you want to get in contact with these virtuosos shoot them an e-mail at pcpbeats@gmail.com or check the MySpace: myspace.com/pcpbeats.
By Jake Spillman
Staff Writer, Mixtapekings.com