Beats And Rhymes

I already told you about the D.O.C.’s new album, Deuce. But since you don’t listen, I’m gonna let him tell you a bit about it himself. If you ain’t knowing, this cat played a huge role in the rise of gangsta rap, rolling with and writing for N.W.A., Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and more. His 1989 Dre-produced debut, No One Can Do It Better (Ruthless), is an undisputed rap classic. Go to www.silverbackrecords.com if you still don’t believe. VICE: What’s up with the new album? The D.O.C.: I feel great about it. I’m very proud of this record. I’m even more proud of the young guys that are spitting on it. Who you rolling with? 6Two, Uptight, El Dorado, Cadillac Seville, and Erotic D. Tell me about them. If you were to put me, Snoop, and Slick Rick together, you’d come up with 6Two. The guy’s a great storyteller. He’s got a delivery that’s all his own, and it’s the shit. The only thing is, he’s a loose cannon. You never know what the fuck he’s getting into now. I believe in him. He’s gonna be one of the great ones. Uptight, the guy could do a song and have not one cussword, and I think they’d still ban it, you know what I’m saying? That’s how good he is with his words. These guys just complement each other. With a nigger like me on your ass all the time, you gonna be the shit. And the label? Silverback Records…We all hits, no bullshit. We doing it old-school, it’ll always have that West Coast feel to it. Except Uptight’s album, he’s a traditional East Coast-type rapper. We doing his album in New York City. So how’d this all come about? I’ve been working on it for about four years, and nobody’s really been doing it with me. I’ve just been slow in putting it together. It’s better like that, cuz it’s my shit. I don’t want to have to collaborate right now. I want to be able to come in, make a decision, and what I say, that’s how it goes. I got a pretty good ear these days. I took lessons from Dre and applied it to this record. You still working with your Cali crew? Whenever I work, if the song calls for them, they’d be there if I asked. So what’s next? This might sound kind of crazy, but I’m on a mission to take over the world. But I’m gonna start in Dallas/Ft. Worth and build. You know what the rap game needs? The rap game needs change, and I’m just stupid enough to think I can change it. FRITZ THA CAT

Top Nine (in no particular order)

1. Tes: X2 (Lex)

2. Awol One & Daddy Kev: Slanguage (Mush)

3. Tame One: When Rappers Attack (Eastern Conference)

4. Phoenix Orion & Syndakit: 3080 Flux (On Point)

5. Bronze One: Just Add Water (Notes To Self)

6. King Honey: Trinity (Sound Ink)

7. Cryptik One: The Anti-Mobius Strip Theory (CP)

8. Busdriver & Radioinactive & Daedelus: The Weather (Mush)

9. Chuggo: No Gentleman (Bidwhist)