http://www.westsiderap.com/interviews-dividenz.htm
WSR: Introduce yourselves. Let everyone know who y'all are.
C.O.L.A.: What's goin down, it's ya boy C.O.L.A
Notes: What's wit it, this is Notes
WSR: Why rapping? What made you guys get into the industry? Who, if any, were your influences in this decision?
C.O.L.A.: Myself, I listened to a lot of Bay Area artists like Spice-1, E-40, C-Bo, Brotha Lynch, but my main influence from way back in the day was LL Cool J. Rap music has always been something that I've loved and I've been spittin rhymes ever since I could remember.
Notes: My influence were the people around me. We used to freestyle and record on the karaoke machine and it was something that I was good at so I ran with it.
WSR: How did you guys meet and when did y'all decide y'all would form Dividenz?
Notes: We been knowin each other for a minute. I was fuckin with Emerald City Records at the time and was recording at the studio when C.O.L.A came thru with Kazy-D. We did some tracks and immediately vibed off of each other. We formed a group with a cat named On One but he eventually left due to personal problems.
WSR: Why the name Dividenz? What's the meaning behind it?
C.O.L.A: The name Dividenz basically means to divide ends. So whatever Notes got, I got. We split right down the middle. Plus, who don't love money, ya feel me? So we tryin to get them Dividenz.
WSR: What's the story behind your own names, Notes & C.O.L.A.? And for the folx that don't know, what does C.O.L.A. stand for?
C.O.L.A: Constantly One Leve Above = C.O.L.A. Cause I stay one level about the competition.
Notes: If you know me, you know I'm not the type of cat that's gonna be talkin loud and high sidin. I'm the cat that's gonna sit back and take notes. I had this name way before this rap game.
WSR: Y'all were on Emerald City first. What was the situation there? Why'd you guys end up leaving the label?
C.O.L.A: To make a long story short, Emerald City Records started as a label with a full roster, about 6 artists deep with 2 in house producers. But by the end it was only us two left(Dividenz). We weren't really gettin a lot of support with our project. Not everyone took they're job as serious as we did so it was time to move on.
Notes: We never really left the label. It pretty much folded and we had no other choice. Everyone else had other obligations that were a bigger priority to them. But they really helped us get our foot in the door and make contacts with a lot cats who's out here that's makin moves.
WSR: Do y'all still have any contact from anyone with from there?
Notes: Definately. That's fam. We got love for them guys in the feelin is recipricated. I see em in traffic all the time.
C.O.L.A: Emerald City was a big ass click and it still is. Them cats be gettin down, that's always gonna be our folks. There is a lot of folks affiliated with Emerald City Records who weren't on the music side of things that still be comin to our shows and showing a lot of support. They wanna see Dividenz succeed. So yeah, it's all love.
WSR: After leaving Emerald City, what made you sign with Street Level Records? And how did the SLR oppurtunity arise?
C.O.L.A: In my opinion since Money Motivated dropped Street Level has been one the top labels in Seattle. We were doin some work with D-Sane around the same time things at Emerald City started to fall apart. It was the natural thing to do.
Notes: I think that game recognized game, really. We saw how hard D-Sane worked and he saw the talent that we had and we just connected. This rap game is way more than just a hobby to us and to work with someone who feels the same way is only gonna elevate our game.
WSR: "Hollow Point Lyrics" was released a few months ago. How's the feedback been from that so far and was releasing the album what you expected?
Notes: We been gettin a lot of positive feedback. We got a little fan base and they really show us a lot of love. It's a trip to do a show and have people you don't even know, know the words to your songs. Plus we be in the streets hustlin the records so they respect the hustle. Everywhere we go we bump into people that have heard or have the album so that lets us know we doin our job.
WSR: How's sales been for the album up to this point? Is it what you expected, better or not as good? Are you guys recieving the kind of love you thought from the Seattle audience?
C.O.L.A: Sales are good, we out here poundin the pavement and using the internet to our advantage. They also movin units out of the retail stores in the area. I think the sales are going as expected, maybe a little bit better. The cd's are moving from our hands quicker than you'd think. It's a full time hustle but somebody gotta do it. We get a lotta love but it's also a lot of jealous cats who can't stand to see other people shine, but that comes with the territory.
Notes: It's a lot of so called rappers out here that's giving a black eye to the game. They make an album and think they can turn superstar over night. They fuckin up the game for the cats like us who's really tryin to put Seattle on the map. But overall they be showin us love out here. They be showin major love in the Cali, Salt Lake City, Boise, Caldwell, and Walla Walla too.
WSR: If you could go back, would there be anything you guys would change about the album?
Notes: Nothing we have the power to change. We meet new people all the time that we work with that I wish could've got down with on the album but there's nothing we can do about that now. I'm very happy with the way the album turned out.
C.O.L.A: Nothin for me either. The album was a great learning process and I feel that the things we learned along the way will only help us get further. We're still studying the game everyday.
WSR: What's your favourite track from the album and why?
C.O.L.A: 'Pull Wit Me' would have to be my favorite. The beat, hook, the lyrics is all on point. That's our weed smokin anthem right there. Anytime I'm smokin that's what's playin. Everybody blows big to this joint.
Notes: For me, I'mma have to say 'Pump Ya Brakes'. That's on some real life shit that everyone can relate too. We all got folks that's paid the price for livin too fast a lifestyle. It's got a real strong message to it.
WSR: What are your plans now? Y'all have a new group album underway? What can we expect from that and how will it differ from "Hollow Point Lyrics?"
Notes: We just puttin in work on the new album and doin shows. Doin a lot of guest appearances. But don't get it twisted, we still in the streets movin units. The new album is called "10% Rap, 90% Hustle". Basically everyone got an album nowadays but being able to rap is such a small fraction of what it takes to succeed. If your buisness and hustle ain't right, you gonna flop like the rest of em. But we still killin em on the mic. We gonna have some real nice guest appearances on there too. We fuckin with some new producers this time around. It ain't gonna be no sophmore slump goin on either.
C.O.L.A: The main difference between the two albums is that we've matured a lot. No one knows what the future holds but right now we're focusing on Dividenz and trying to elevate the name
WSR: Who's gonna be guest appearing on the new album? And what other producers are y'all workin with?
Notes: We just gonna do a gang of tracks for the next album and pick the tightest ones, so it's hard to tell for sure but we got a lot of tracks without features. We got tracks with Cool Nutz, A-Wax, Kazy-D, and T-Macn. We gonna fuck with 151, Skuntdunanna, Crytical, Young Vicious, Sarkastik, Bullet, maybe a few others. I wanna get Maniak Lok on there too. As far as producers we fuckin with D-Sane, Kuddie, and Big Ice off top. We got a track from Beezie 2000. We gonna get some tracks from R.C, Skuntdunanna, and whoever else comin with heat.
C.O.L.A: As far as features go....Im not really too concerned right now.... as long as my SLR niggas(Young Vicious..Crytical.. Skunt..Sarkastik) is gettin down with us everthing is everything......On the Beats.. Im fuckin wit whoever got that fire period............
WSR: Mr. D-Sane's one of the top producers in the NorthWest. How has working with him helped your own selves get better?
C.O.L.A: Having his veteren imput and work ethic motivates me to not settle for anything less than perfect.
Notes: D-Sane is a perfectionist. You know that anything that comes out of the studio is gonna have some sweat involved with it. We really got the same views on what sounds good and what doesn't. If it doesn't sound good we ain't gonna quit till it's perfect. He's has been in the game for a long time and is very intelligent when it comes to engineering, recording, producing, and running the business. I've learned a lot from him.
WSR: Besides "Hollow Point Lyrics", what other projects can we see Dividenz featured on?
Notes: I know we gonna forget some but you can catch one of us or both of us on Skunt's new double album "Never Let Em See You Stress" that's comin out soon. He spittin gas the whole album. We on Crytical's album "Crytical Condition", Young Vicious "The Burn Ward", Mo-X & Lil G "Angry Souls", "Street Poetry Vol. I", T-Macn's new shit, Benny Ru's album, Oxagin "Finally", Reigncraft Complation, Nightshield "Savage Alliance", Nightshield's new album, Bullet "Dedication and Desire", and a gang of mixtapes including Schizo's new shit. We gonna be on a lot of projects in the next year. I still gotta make it down to Cali to fuck with my Bay folks too.
C.O.L.A: Look out for Dividenz on that "NW Livin Comp" Its entirely roduced by "Mr. Talkbox" himself Bosko on Jus Family Records.....Its gonna be a banger fa sho!!!!!!!!!
WSR: Introduce yourselves. Let everyone know who y'all are.
C.O.L.A.: What's goin down, it's ya boy C.O.L.A
Notes: What's wit it, this is Notes
WSR: Why rapping? What made you guys get into the industry? Who, if any, were your influences in this decision?
C.O.L.A.: Myself, I listened to a lot of Bay Area artists like Spice-1, E-40, C-Bo, Brotha Lynch, but my main influence from way back in the day was LL Cool J. Rap music has always been something that I've loved and I've been spittin rhymes ever since I could remember.
Notes: My influence were the people around me. We used to freestyle and record on the karaoke machine and it was something that I was good at so I ran with it.
WSR: How did you guys meet and when did y'all decide y'all would form Dividenz?
Notes: We been knowin each other for a minute. I was fuckin with Emerald City Records at the time and was recording at the studio when C.O.L.A came thru with Kazy-D. We did some tracks and immediately vibed off of each other. We formed a group with a cat named On One but he eventually left due to personal problems.
WSR: Why the name Dividenz? What's the meaning behind it?
C.O.L.A: The name Dividenz basically means to divide ends. So whatever Notes got, I got. We split right down the middle. Plus, who don't love money, ya feel me? So we tryin to get them Dividenz.
WSR: What's the story behind your own names, Notes & C.O.L.A.? And for the folx that don't know, what does C.O.L.A. stand for?
C.O.L.A: Constantly One Leve Above = C.O.L.A. Cause I stay one level about the competition.
Notes: If you know me, you know I'm not the type of cat that's gonna be talkin loud and high sidin. I'm the cat that's gonna sit back and take notes. I had this name way before this rap game.
WSR: Y'all were on Emerald City first. What was the situation there? Why'd you guys end up leaving the label?
C.O.L.A: To make a long story short, Emerald City Records started as a label with a full roster, about 6 artists deep with 2 in house producers. But by the end it was only us two left(Dividenz). We weren't really gettin a lot of support with our project. Not everyone took they're job as serious as we did so it was time to move on.
Notes: We never really left the label. It pretty much folded and we had no other choice. Everyone else had other obligations that were a bigger priority to them. But they really helped us get our foot in the door and make contacts with a lot cats who's out here that's makin moves.
WSR: Do y'all still have any contact from anyone with from there?
Notes: Definately. That's fam. We got love for them guys in the feelin is recipricated. I see em in traffic all the time.
C.O.L.A: Emerald City was a big ass click and it still is. Them cats be gettin down, that's always gonna be our folks. There is a lot of folks affiliated with Emerald City Records who weren't on the music side of things that still be comin to our shows and showing a lot of support. They wanna see Dividenz succeed. So yeah, it's all love.
WSR: After leaving Emerald City, what made you sign with Street Level Records? And how did the SLR oppurtunity arise?
C.O.L.A: In my opinion since Money Motivated dropped Street Level has been one the top labels in Seattle. We were doin some work with D-Sane around the same time things at Emerald City started to fall apart. It was the natural thing to do.
Notes: I think that game recognized game, really. We saw how hard D-Sane worked and he saw the talent that we had and we just connected. This rap game is way more than just a hobby to us and to work with someone who feels the same way is only gonna elevate our game.
WSR: "Hollow Point Lyrics" was released a few months ago. How's the feedback been from that so far and was releasing the album what you expected?
Notes: We been gettin a lot of positive feedback. We got a little fan base and they really show us a lot of love. It's a trip to do a show and have people you don't even know, know the words to your songs. Plus we be in the streets hustlin the records so they respect the hustle. Everywhere we go we bump into people that have heard or have the album so that lets us know we doin our job.
WSR: How's sales been for the album up to this point? Is it what you expected, better or not as good? Are you guys recieving the kind of love you thought from the Seattle audience?
C.O.L.A: Sales are good, we out here poundin the pavement and using the internet to our advantage. They also movin units out of the retail stores in the area. I think the sales are going as expected, maybe a little bit better. The cd's are moving from our hands quicker than you'd think. It's a full time hustle but somebody gotta do it. We get a lotta love but it's also a lot of jealous cats who can't stand to see other people shine, but that comes with the territory.
Notes: It's a lot of so called rappers out here that's giving a black eye to the game. They make an album and think they can turn superstar over night. They fuckin up the game for the cats like us who's really tryin to put Seattle on the map. But overall they be showin us love out here. They be showin major love in the Cali, Salt Lake City, Boise, Caldwell, and Walla Walla too.
WSR: If you could go back, would there be anything you guys would change about the album?
Notes: Nothing we have the power to change. We meet new people all the time that we work with that I wish could've got down with on the album but there's nothing we can do about that now. I'm very happy with the way the album turned out.
C.O.L.A: Nothin for me either. The album was a great learning process and I feel that the things we learned along the way will only help us get further. We're still studying the game everyday.
WSR: What's your favourite track from the album and why?
C.O.L.A: 'Pull Wit Me' would have to be my favorite. The beat, hook, the lyrics is all on point. That's our weed smokin anthem right there. Anytime I'm smokin that's what's playin. Everybody blows big to this joint.
Notes: For me, I'mma have to say 'Pump Ya Brakes'. That's on some real life shit that everyone can relate too. We all got folks that's paid the price for livin too fast a lifestyle. It's got a real strong message to it.
WSR: What are your plans now? Y'all have a new group album underway? What can we expect from that and how will it differ from "Hollow Point Lyrics?"
Notes: We just puttin in work on the new album and doin shows. Doin a lot of guest appearances. But don't get it twisted, we still in the streets movin units. The new album is called "10% Rap, 90% Hustle". Basically everyone got an album nowadays but being able to rap is such a small fraction of what it takes to succeed. If your buisness and hustle ain't right, you gonna flop like the rest of em. But we still killin em on the mic. We gonna have some real nice guest appearances on there too. We fuckin with some new producers this time around. It ain't gonna be no sophmore slump goin on either.
C.O.L.A: The main difference between the two albums is that we've matured a lot. No one knows what the future holds but right now we're focusing on Dividenz and trying to elevate the name
WSR: Who's gonna be guest appearing on the new album? And what other producers are y'all workin with?
Notes: We just gonna do a gang of tracks for the next album and pick the tightest ones, so it's hard to tell for sure but we got a lot of tracks without features. We got tracks with Cool Nutz, A-Wax, Kazy-D, and T-Macn. We gonna fuck with 151, Skuntdunanna, Crytical, Young Vicious, Sarkastik, Bullet, maybe a few others. I wanna get Maniak Lok on there too. As far as producers we fuckin with D-Sane, Kuddie, and Big Ice off top. We got a track from Beezie 2000. We gonna get some tracks from R.C, Skuntdunanna, and whoever else comin with heat.
C.O.L.A: As far as features go....Im not really too concerned right now.... as long as my SLR niggas(Young Vicious..Crytical.. Skunt..Sarkastik) is gettin down with us everthing is everything......On the Beats.. Im fuckin wit whoever got that fire period............
WSR: Mr. D-Sane's one of the top producers in the NorthWest. How has working with him helped your own selves get better?
C.O.L.A: Having his veteren imput and work ethic motivates me to not settle for anything less than perfect.
Notes: D-Sane is a perfectionist. You know that anything that comes out of the studio is gonna have some sweat involved with it. We really got the same views on what sounds good and what doesn't. If it doesn't sound good we ain't gonna quit till it's perfect. He's has been in the game for a long time and is very intelligent when it comes to engineering, recording, producing, and running the business. I've learned a lot from him.
WSR: Besides "Hollow Point Lyrics", what other projects can we see Dividenz featured on?
Notes: I know we gonna forget some but you can catch one of us or both of us on Skunt's new double album "Never Let Em See You Stress" that's comin out soon. He spittin gas the whole album. We on Crytical's album "Crytical Condition", Young Vicious "The Burn Ward", Mo-X & Lil G "Angry Souls", "Street Poetry Vol. I", T-Macn's new shit, Benny Ru's album, Oxagin "Finally", Reigncraft Complation, Nightshield "Savage Alliance", Nightshield's new album, Bullet "Dedication and Desire", and a gang of mixtapes including Schizo's new shit. We gonna be on a lot of projects in the next year. I still gotta make it down to Cali to fuck with my Bay folks too.
C.O.L.A: Look out for Dividenz on that "NW Livin Comp" Its entirely roduced by "Mr. Talkbox" himself Bosko on Jus Family Records.....Its gonna be a banger fa sho!!!!!!!!!
