“…three drinks later she was damn near Pam Grier maybe my imagination or the black and tan beer.” - Tony Bones on “Splashin Over Monica”
Hailing from Edmonton, North London, but calling New York home since before he was a teenager, Tony Bones has made noise in the rap game both as an underground vocalist and as graphic designer, and for those of you who don’t know much about this guy, here’s your chance to catch-up. I actually spoke with him late last year after I mistakenly referred to him as a white guy, and more recently Keir built with Tony about his exploits, so I’ve combined the best parts of both interviews into some kind of super-mega-Q&A-type extravaganza and all that good stuff. Bones is also responsible for the dope new Unkut Dot Com logo that we’re currently sporting.
Keir: What is your earliest recollection of hip hop out there?
My first encounter with hip hop was seeing Sugarhill Gang perform on Top of the Pops and I hated it. That may have been because I heard ‘Ant Rap’ by Adam & The Ants first which was horrid. I was more into what my older brother was into like The Jam, Elvis Costello, Madness, The Clash, The Specials, The Beat. That and what my dad played like Roy Ayres, Heatwave, Bob James, Lee Morgan, WAR, Cymande, all that stuff.
When did you come to the US?
We first came in October of ‘83. I was about to turn 12. My family basically moved here to the US for a change of scenery. My parents are pretty outgoing like that. I absolutely hated it at first, it was like a different planet…
What was it like fitting into American culture at that age?
I remember being asked to say this or that. At a certain point I decided to disguise the way I spoke to avoid the hassle. Eventually I got used to the change and settled in. Having an older brother who was a nutter and nice with his hands didn’t hurt either. (more…)
Once Kool G Rap moved on from his contract with Cold Chillin’, they employed their standard “squeeze the Juice” tactics and released a flawed greatest hits (Killer Kuts) LP and then the Rated XXX album, which was a collection of twelve inches, sex raps and some remixes of old demos. One of the highlights was “Enter The Dragon”, which had previously been leaked on radio years earlier and now appeared with a new beat. While I recall the original track being a lot better, the verbal display found here is classic Kool Genius wordplay. (more…)
For a bit of a change of pace, last year I spoke to Kevon Glickman, a who’s been working as a music attorney, label owner and manager in the hip-hop game since the days of the Tuff Crew. Currently his company Respect Managerment handles acts like Rick Ross and Trina.
Robbie: So you used to work with the Tuff Crew back in Philadelphia?
Kevon: Yeah, if you look at Back To Wreck Shop my face is on the back cover. I organized the photo shoot on the art museum steps, with this photographer named Michael Levine. It was one of his first shoots, then he went on to shoot everybody from Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and big rock stuff. He’s one of the top photographers now, that was his first cover.
So how did you get involved in the music business? You were practicing law at the time?
First I was signing punk rock acts, and I was a graffiti artist. The graffiti culture and the hip-hop culture kinda overlapped in the early days. I was working with rock groups and not getting anywhere with the rock stuff, and then started managing DJ Cash Money when the DJ culture started happening. Then we had these rap trading cards, and I signed-up all the graffiti artists and instead of bubble gum there was a sticker in each one of the packs, and the sticker was a famous wall. (more…)
Here’s an interview sent in by Pawel Kumiszcze, which was first published in a Polish magazine late last year:
Finsta is who you might call a hip hop veteran. The Bushwick born MC & producer has been creating music for over 15 years always staying true to himself. It’s a little known fact that he made his first steps as an original member of Black Moon but his formal introduction to the world happened a couple of years later when
he emerged on the scene as a solo artist with “Finsta Baby”. The solo act status didn’t last long. Soon Finsta joined forces with Bundy and together they made a name for themselves releasing quite a few singles and performing all over the globe during the 90’s. Unfortunately, one thing they haven’t managed to accomplish is an album. The good news is that Finsta Bundy is still in effect so who knows, maybe they will let us feel the high once more.
Pawel: How did you get into music and what led you into Hip Hop?
Finsta: I was always in band classes since junior high school and growing up, there was always music in the house. My moms had some dope 8 track tapes like The Drifters and Gladys Knight & The Pips. As far as hip hop, I would hear joints at block parties like Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Busy Bee, Treacherous Three, plus there were cats in Bushwick that would be rocking the mic with the DJ. I officially got into hip hop when I met Evil Dee in high school. Before that I was playing the sax, singing on my church choir, and trying to make gospel songs.
Since you mentioned Evil Dee, how important was his role in your career? I remember reading an interview where he said he got you a deal.
Evil helped me get my first solo deal, after I left Black Moon, with a label called CRACD Records. It was a label owned by an old school MC called Gucci Man and his partner Chuck. At the time it was just me. Evil co-produced my single “Finsta Baby” which was actually the first Beatminerz release. Outside of that the only role he played was as a friend. Black Moon had came out afterwards so I pretty much had to learn the ins & outs of the business by myself.
So you were actually a part of Black Moon?
Yeah, I was actually an original member. We started out as High Tech (which was actually the name of a store that sold clothes in the hood) before we changed the name to Black Moon. (more…)
