Photo by John Davis
Remember Cappadonna from the Wu? What became of the slang editorialist who made his debut on “Ice Cream” and was the Clan’s official sharp dresser back when Ghostface was still a dirtbag? Well, Cappachino the Great claims RZA juxed him for every penny of his publishing money. The man who used to brag about “seeing my face on a twenty-dollar bill” now drives a gypsy cab in Baltimore.
VICE: Cappa, what’s this I hear about you being assed out?
Cappadonna: I took a fall, man. I was literally on the street, sleeping on the ground next to a bum. I had to hustle for a while, selling weed and pills. I even sold socks and some clothes. At least I didn’t sell no cracks. Then this white boy, Remedy, came all the way to Baltimore, picked me up off the street, and gave me a shot at an album. I was sleeping in one of his offices on a futon. He made sure that I could eat. There was no shower in the office so I had to go to my mother’s house to bathe and maybe get a plate of food. And you also drove a cab, right?
I’m still driving it. I don’t even have my own car yet, but I got a hooptie that my peoples be letting me hold. What I do is hacking––it’s like cabbing but it’s illegal. When you see people waving for a cab, you just pull over like, “Yo, where you going to?” Sometimes people don’t recognize me, sometimes they do. They might ask for an autograph and I’ll be like, “Yeah, yeah, nothing’s changed, give me five bucks.” You used to be the flyest member of the Wu. What happened to your wardrobe in all of this? Are you forced to wear South Pole?
Well, I gave away lots, but I still got a lot of nice threads. I shop at this place called J5 now, where shirts be five dollars. I can’t pay over ten dollars for a shirt and twenty dollars for a pair of shorts. Like right now I’m wearing Dickies shorts, twenty-four bucks. That’s stretching it, but I still got to look presentable for my customers. BUSTA NUT
Cappadonna: I took a fall, man. I was literally on the street, sleeping on the ground next to a bum. I had to hustle for a while, selling weed and pills. I even sold socks and some clothes. At least I didn’t sell no cracks. Then this white boy, Remedy, came all the way to Baltimore, picked me up off the street, and gave me a shot at an album. I was sleeping in one of his offices on a futon. He made sure that I could eat. There was no shower in the office so I had to go to my mother’s house to bathe and maybe get a plate of food. And you also drove a cab, right?
I’m still driving it. I don’t even have my own car yet, but I got a hooptie that my peoples be letting me hold. What I do is hacking––it’s like cabbing but it’s illegal. When you see people waving for a cab, you just pull over like, “Yo, where you going to?” Sometimes people don’t recognize me, sometimes they do. They might ask for an autograph and I’ll be like, “Yeah, yeah, nothing’s changed, give me five bucks.” You used to be the flyest member of the Wu. What happened to your wardrobe in all of this? Are you forced to wear South Pole?
Well, I gave away lots, but I still got a lot of nice threads. I shop at this place called J5 now, where shirts be five dollars. I can’t pay over ten dollars for a shirt and twenty dollars for a pair of shorts. Like right now I’m wearing Dickies shorts, twenty-four bucks. That’s stretching it, but I still got to look presentable for my customers. BUSTA NUT