I HAVE SEVERAL GREAT MEMORIES OF MY BOY BUT LET ME BRING UP A COUPLE..
WOOD HAD REACHED OUT TO ME AFTER I PUT OUT THE FIRST DOBAD ALBUM IN LATE 03 BECAUSE HE HAD HEARD A VERSE I KICKED ON THE RECORD AND LIKED IT. IT WAS FULL OF THAT POLTICAL TYPE SHIT THAT WOOD LOVED. HE SAID SOME REALLY POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT IT AND I WAS SUPRISED HE WOULD JUST HIT ME OUT THE BLUE TO SAY THAT.
BACK IN EARLY 2005 WHEN HE WAS GATHERING TRACKS FOR THE NE6 ALBUM, HE CALLED ME UP AND SAID HE WANTED A TRACK. HE HAD TOLD ME PRETTY MUCH WHAT KIND OF JOINT HE WANTED FROM ME AND I RECORDED THE "ON THE RUN," JOINT FOR HIM. I KNEW THAT HE WAS GONNA LIKE IT. I RECORDED AND PRODUCED IT AT MY CRIB AND MY HOMIE ENGINEERED IT FLAWLESSLY, PROBABLY BETTER THAN ANYTHING I HAD EVER RECORDED AT THE PAD TO THAT DATE. MY MOTIVATION WAS BASICALLY TO MAKE A SONG THAT HE WOULD IMMEDIATELY LOVE. I FELT THE MAGIC ON THAT SONG. WROTE ALL THREE VERSES IN A LITTLE LESS THAN HOUR. IT WAS JUST THAT EASY.
THAT BEING SAID. AFTER I MALED OUT THE TRACK FROM THE POST OFFICE DOWN THE STREET FROM MY OFFICE IN FRISCO, I WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS. YOU KNOW, I WAS HOPING IT WAS WHAT HE WANTED. ABOUT 3 DAYS LATER I'M SITTING IN MY HOMIE'S CAR AND I GET A CALL. WHEN I PICK UP THE FIRST THING I HEAR IN THE BACKGROUND IS MY SONG SO I KNOW IT'S WOOD. ALL I HEAR IS: " YEAH MAN WE'RE OVER HERE LISTENIN TO THIS SHIT AND ALL I CAN SAY IS TWO THUMBS UP FROM EAST CO CO RECORDS, HOMIE!"
IT WAS A PROUD MOMENT FOR ME. ONE THAT I WON'T FORGET. ALL AT ONCE I WAS RELIEVED AND REAL PROUD AND THE HOME BOY MADE ME LAUGH TOO. HE TOLD ME THAT THE SONG WAS EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED FROM ME. BASICALLY THAT I COULDN'T HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB. WE HAD BEEN COOL SINCE 99 BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE WORKED TOGETHER ON SOME MUSIC AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED ORGANICALLY. WE DIDN'T FORCE IT. I'M THANKFUL FOR THAT. IT ALLOWED US TO BUILD A GENUINE FRIENDSHIP.
ANOTHER GREAT MEMORY IS OF A LONG COVERSATION I HAD WITH HIM ONE NIGHT ABOUT LIFE IN GENERAL. WOOD WAS A DEEPLY WISE AND INTELLIGENT SOUL. HE WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A GANGSTER RAPPER. HE KNEW THAT. I KNEW THAT. ANYONE WITH HALF A BRAIN KNOWS IT. AT THIS TIME HE WAS UP IN PARADISE AND WE WERE TALKNG ABOUT ALOT OF DIFFERENT THANGZ AND ANOTHER HOMIE OF OURS THAT WAS ON THE LAMB AND FACIN A SERIOUS CHARGE. ANYONE THAT KNOWS WOOD KNOWS THAT HE WAS A VERY CAUTIOUS MAN. WE WERE TALKING IN ROUNDABOUT SORT OF WAY ABOUT OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. WOOD WAS LIKE BASICALLY THEM PEOPLE ARE MOST DEFINITELY WATCHIN, LISTENIN', ALL THAT. I WAS IN AGREEMENT WITH HIS ASSESSMENT. I KNEW WHEN WE TALKED, HE WAS SOLID YOU KNOW? SOLID AS IN HE CHOSE HIS WORDS ON THE HORN VERY WISELY. A SECOND LATER HE WAS LIKE "YO DON'T LET THOSE SHRIMP BURN," TO SOMEONE IN THE BACKGROUND. I WAS LIKE DOG WHAT YOU OVER THERE EATIN? HE WAS "SHRIMP SCAMPI MAN. I MAKE A MEAN SHRIMP SCAMPI."
I STARTED BUSTIN UP LAUGHIN' LIKE SHRIMP SCAMPI??.. LIKE MAN YOU OVER THERE DUCKIN AND DODGIN BUT YOU STILL LIVING A GREAT LIFE BRO..
LOVE YA WOOD.