This interview conducted January, 1993.



How did you get into rap?
Kool G Rap: My man Eric B.—once he made his first record—he always knew me as one of the rappers around the neighborhood that got props. He tried to pull me in the doors after he got in. He did it by hooking me up with DJ Polo. At the time Polo was with another rapper by the name of MC Frost. The had already cut their first record called "Polo's Beats." Polo's rappers didn't want to do promotional shows and shit like that so Polo was looking for another rapper anyway. By Eric B. introducing us, me and Polo hooked up and went to Marley's (Marl) house and cut the first joint: "It's A Demo." That was 1986.

What took so long for Live and Let Die to come out?
Sample clearance and all that. That held it back for a while. I had to change certain shit that couldn't get cleared. I had to drop some songs that couldn't get cleared because I didn't want to change them. They were already perfect the first time.

How do you feel about that whole sampling thing?
I feel muthafuckas should get paid for their songs. If I was to go into the studio and use something from Curtis Mayfield or any other artist, they should get paid for their music, creativity. But I don't agree with the artists who don't want people to use their shit at all. I think they're ungrateful. We're helping bring those washed up muthafuckas back.

Your lyrics are a lot harder on this record than on previous ones.
I just decided that if hardcore's my image, I should go all the fuck out. If you look back at the songs I made on my first album and my second album, people liked the hard shit like "Road to the Riches," "Truly Yours," "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Talk Like Sex." These are the songs people liked most, so I decided to keep my image straight up hard.

Who do you look up to lyrically?
Certain artists like Scarface and Cube always fascinated me. Rakim also. he was the first muthafucka to explode a nigga's brain cells. God damn! Rakim's a clever muthafucka. When I used to hear their shit, I'd be like 'Oh shit!' Shit like "Lyrics of Fury"? Ah man!

What do you think you'd be doing now if you'd never began rapping?
I was never one for taking orders. I can tell you that. I definitely would have been in some mischief. Some ol' slanging drug shit, gun slingin' shit or something. I probably would have been one of those jail rappers. You know those muthafuckas who just be in jail with nothing to do but write rhymes?



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