The B-Sides: Mr. Brady Interview, pt. 1
I’m finally getting around to publishing the full interview with Mr. Brady that I did for the CityBeat article. I could only get at him through email–and the contents here are actually from a few different email exchanges–but it still turned out well.
This first part gets into a lot of history before asking Brady about his most recent Welcome To The City EP with AbJo (stream above). Part 2 (click here) gets more into Brady and what makes him tick.
SDRaps.com: How did you first get involved in hip-hop? I think I heard you were breakdancing way back in the day.
Mr. Brady: Yeah I been around music pretty much my whole life. I had uncles that sang and aunties that danced and was on Soul Train back in the day a few times. They always had the dope records they use to play, mostly funk and soul joints. My mom bought me my first record on vinyl for me though. I think she took me to Wherehouse Records and I picked out [the single by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force] “Planet Rock”. I was mad young, elementary school. I came home and put my speakers on the porch of our apartment and put some cardboard down in the parking lot and I would break and pop all day every day.
Cats used to battle different blocks then in my hood. It was kind of crazy at times at the end of the battles. I was that little dude walking around with a big ass boom box. And when Beat Street came out, forget about it. I used to go see that every Tuesday across the street from Horace Mann Middle School. They had $2 Tuesdays. It would be packed and when the movie would end, everybody would rush the stage and battle while the credits ran at the end of the movie and battle until we got kicked out. Shit was crazy.
SDRaps.com: Do you still have the first rhyme that you wrote, the one to Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s “La Di Da Di”?
Mr. Brady: Damn, wish I did. Don’t even remember how it started. I wrote it at my homie’s house though, I remember. I didn’t really get serious [with] writing rhymes though until later really. I was more into breaking and popping then.
SDRaps.com: Can you talk about your old crew, Pimpin Comprehension? How did you, Diz, and Grownfolkz link up? How long were you together?
Mr. Brady: Man, Pimpin Comprehension & Tony Da Skitzo shows was super poppin’ then. We would pack spots with just us on the bill. I met my peeps Greg (Grownfolkz) through a mutual friend. She introduced us, I called him, met him at a park, got a 40, and we freestyled forever. That’s my family still to this day, him and Diz. Pimp Comp was originally just me and Greg but he said he had a homie that was raw and brought Diz through and it was a wrap.
Yeah, that’s the first time I ever signed to an indie label and manager. This was like ’92-’95. We had write-ups in like Rap Pages and all that back then. We were about to do some things but our manager also ran the label and he was pretty much wack and didn’t push us like he should’ve with the buzz we had and all. All good though, you live and learn. Glad I went through all that then though.
SDRaps.com: Can you talk about the making of “Storm Brewing” with Tony Da Skitzo? You’ve said before that this record was your first big break.
Mr. Brady: We laid “Storm Brewing” in LA at Skanless Records. The homie Wiz from Black Forest made that beat. That song got me recognition as a solo artist. That was in ’96 when that dropped. Man, we were getting crazy spins from that record everywhere and a lot of write-ups. I think it was supposed to be a Skitzo solo joint originally but I rolled with him to LA. He asked me to get on it with him and I laced it. Probably had a 40 and some dirt herbs and did our thing. I heard that record was bootlegged in Japan somewhere too. Good luck trying to find it now, especially the special edition purple vinyl.
SDRaps.com: What do you like about Saafir’s Boxcar Sessions?
Mr. Brady: One of my Top 10 Albums ever probably. That album is so raw and had some of the best rhymes and beats ever. I don’t know if I can say it was slept on but it did go over the heads of a few. That was such a good time in hip-hop when that dropped. Saafir was mad original. I never heard nothing like that then. That album and Hiero made me want to move to the Bay and I did in ’97. I wore that tape out though. I think somebody got it for me later though.
SDRaps.com: What are your favorite memories of The Improv? Any good stories you can share?
Mr. Brady: The Improv is epic for Diego hip-hop. Big up Orko, the founder of The Improv. I used to rock there weekly. I would put my beats on tape and Orko had a tape deck set up on stage and [we'd] just rock. I used to walk, ride a bike, or whatever to get there. Many battles happened there. I remember one time some cats was trying to team up on Orko and nobody else was there but him so I went in with him and had his back. Wonder if he remembers that. Thats the fam. Me and Orko had some adventures in Canada together. Don’t know too many cats that grinded like that cat. I remember it got so live, cats from Project Blowed started coming down. Yeah, The Improv and Mesopotamia in Spring Valley was live then. [ed. note: according to other artists and heads from back then as well as a quick Google search, Mesopotamia Cafe--where the open mic took place--was actually in Lemon Grove]
SDRaps.com: Can you talk about your project with Piff PCH?
Mr. Brady: I’m hyped on this project. We just getting started on it. It’s a project we got, all my beats with him on the rhymes. I think he has the potential to be next Blu or Elzhi, really. Dude is nice. Remember I said it. I know talent when I see it. Hopefully this won’t be our only project but yeah, I expect it to be pretty classic. you’ll get it soon.
SDRaps.com: Can you talk about Welcome To The City with AbJo?
Mr. Brady: I’m very hyped on this project too. It’s good to find dope talent in our city. He’s a hidden gem, him and Piff. I’m trying to connect more with cats in Diego that I feel. But yeah, I met AbJo at a beat battle I was judging. Every beat I was like, Who is this dude? He’s nice. I was like, You should send me some beats. Being the labaholic I am, I was like, Let’s just knock out a quick EP, and he was with it. It’s being mixed now. Trying to get it out soon. One of my favorite projects I done ever as a solo artist.
SDRaps.com: What’s the meaning behind the title?
Mr. Brady: I feel like this is like a soundtrack to the city, a homegrown Diego sound the city can be proud of. Plus AbJo and myself are from Diego so it’s only right we introduce the world to our city. I’m trying to paint a picture of the city with my words and AbJo provides the pulse of the city with his beats. It’s like a statement saying, “We’re here!”
SDRaps.com: What makes this EP standout from the rest of your projects?
Mr. Brady: From the first song we recorded, it just felt special. I kind of got that tingling feeling you know, like we we’re tapping into something special here. The first time I heard AbJo, I wanted to work with him. This EP came together real easy, fast and effortless. Nothing felt forced as it shouldn’t.
SDRaps.com: What’s it like working with AbJo?
Mr. Brady: Haha, we didn’t record any of these songs in the same studio at the same time but the chemistry was like we we’re in the lab together for every joint. I recently moved out of Diego so he just emailed me beats and I just sent the songs back to him to mix and whatnot. I do a lot of projects like that nowadays with cats all over the world. That’s the beauty of technology. We’re already talking about doing another one this year but with both of us in the lab together.
SDRaps.com: You’re working on two projects with dudes from San Diego, AbJo and Piff. Was that a conscious decision to stay active in the SD scene?
Mr. Brady: I love to stay active with my Diego peeps. It’s just good when you find people that you click with musically that you can build with effortlessly. Just like Deep Rooted, if it’s right, I’m with it.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this interview shortly.
Reading be fun though:
