FOR THE MR KEE FANS....
Mr. Kee: The Latin Boss Speaks to West Coast Rydaz
November 13, 2006 by nando
One of the most versatile bay area rappers returned this year with a new album in The First, The Last, The Only in a joint venture with the newly formed Thizz Latin . Mr. Kee is not an artist that can be just categorized as a "latin rapper", but as a rapper with depth, and a message in his music we can relate to. Although, he can get down with the hyphy crowd as he proved with this new album, Mr. Kee explains that he's still the same Kee we all know about in this exclusive interview.
**************.com: Talk about the new album, "The First, the Last, the Only".
Mr. Kee: It's in stores right now as we speak. It's a joint venture with Uprise Music Group, that's my label and Black N Brown and Thizz formed Thizz Latin. I got my Soldiers of Fortune on there, FAB, Mac Mall, it's a nice little album. The Latin Boss, First Last Only.
**************.com: What direction did you take with this new album?
Mr. Kee: On this one I kept it more bay compared to my last albums. Like on The One, I had alot of songs on there that could be more nationwide and international. This one I just got it all out of me as far as some of the knocks to the hyphy shit. We kept it really more bay on this one. But I got a little touch of Kee on there.
**************.com: Talk about why you chose to do business with Goldtoes again...your first album was through BNB and now the first Thizz Latin album was yours as well.
Mr. Kee: Since 18 Wit a Bullet, when he first signed me, I did the 14 Karat Dreams and did a two album deal with him. Then I did the Latin Plague and that was actually the first album that was Uprise also. He always knew I was trying to do my own thing anyway, so from there I dropped my next album The One. I always kept fucking with Goldtoes. We did the Game Untold, always just kept working with him. He holla'd at me about this opportunity he had with Kilo and Miami with Thizz Latin. My thing was, I already had the whole album damn near done. I didn't have no plans to drop it this year anyway so I was like let's do it, let's knock this out. One album deal and we just went ahead and put it together. I handed him the album and they just promote it and everything like that.
**************.com: Was this the album that was supposed to be the "God Amongst Men"?
Mr. Kee: I could say it's probably two or three tracks I transfered over to it that sound like it would fit this album, but it's definitely not A God Amongst Men. Like I said, everything else was just songs I was working on, I didn't know what I was gonna use em for and when he gave me the phone call it was like man this is perfect. That's why I switched the title real quick. I'm still working on God Amongst Men. It will probably be out early next year. I'm trying to get that major deal so that's gonna be back to the other nationwide level.
**************.com: Is this a 1 album deal type thing or are you going to be actively working with Thizz Latin?
Mr. Kee: I'm dealing with everybody on there. They got Freddy Chingaz, they got Jimmy Roses. They're getting alot of more people. Tito B. They're getting alot more people on that label. The only thing is, I do have my own label so it wasnt' like, oh this one album and let's stop. It's almost like an alter ego, I can keep working with them but I'm gonna keep working on my own shit too. So that was just to keep me open. I'm steady trying to get to that label deal with my label. That's why I never signed to no major label as just Mr. Kee. I got Uprise Music Group and my artists off there. Mugso, he won the 949 battle thing, and he working on his mixtape Rap Cocaine. I got Droop, R&B monster. I got Ricc, I got Sheisty, I got a whole gang of my soldiers working on my label.
**************.com: So you really plan to put out their projects?
Mr. Kee: Yeah and we own our own studio now too. In Castro Valley, it's called The Gas Chamber. 510-537-8700. We got the Protools and everything so now we working alot more efficiently. Everybody's in here working, so it's really on their pace. I started everybody with mixtapes so they can get their feet wet. What I'll probably do is make a real Soldiers of Fortune album. The last one was Bay Area 51, that had Cali Clap on it, The Bay, that got radio play on there. So I might do the album and just one last twist. Everybody's doing they mixtapes, but I'll probably do that and branch off from there on who's ready for their solos.
**************.com: I see you have a collab with Louie Loc on the album, we haven't heard you 2 on the same song since your first album. Is he fuckin with Thizz Latin and did you just get back in touch with him?
Mr. Kee: No, no no. It gets even better than that. Me Louie Loc and 10sion on all the same track!
It's straight. Everything's been good, I been in touch with him. We just been running parrallel lines though. Louie did the Power Moves, he's been working on his stuff and everybody got they own personal lives and issues. So everybody trying to get back on track. But that right there is damn near history as far as us 3 together on one song. That's never happened. We've all been on songs together, but never all 3 of us.
**************.com: What ever happened to the Tequila vs. Hennessey project with 10sion?
Mr. Kee: That was actually supposed to be Game Untold. That's what it started out as and the more we got into it, it turned into a compilation. You can hear me all over that album, and you can hear 10sion all over it too. It went from that to just getting redirected in the plans. But as far as that, that's still in the works. I just talked to them about it the other day. We were even talking about all three of us and two of my artists, Mugso and Droop in a group called The Untouchables. Five of us, the cover just like the Untouchables and all latin features, but as far as us, Droop is my R&B singer, Mugso is my pitbull as far as the lyrics and already 10sion and Louie Loc and myself. People I already mentioned it to were like oh shit.
**************.com: What is your opinion on the direction of things within the bay area these days?
Mr. Kee: I don't mind anything that sheds light on the bay. The whole hyphy movement is good with me. I got my stunna shades on too. You gotta just keep up with it. It's probably not gonna last forever, but at least it shed light over here. Now it's really on who's ready to shine. That's how I feel about it. I don't hate it, I don't love it to death. I'm just rolling with it. As long as the light is shined this way I'm good. I love the bay to death. 40 doing his thing, Keak doing his thing, FAB doing his thing. Everybody getting they recognition they deserve.
**************.com: What else do you have going on besides your solo. You on any other albums?
Mr. Kee: I'm on damn near everybody who's coming out on Thizz Latin. Just really been runing this studio. I engineer, I do damn near everything over here. That made my niche as far as my back up plan. I can't rap forever, that's why mothafuckas need to start picking up this torch and running with it. I worked hard to get this studio right here and now it's an outlet. It's an outlet for anyone who wants to fuck with me and up their game. We don't run it like a regular ass studio. You can lounge up in here. It's four rooms, a reception area. We got foozball. I took everything I loved and hated out of other studios. You can bring your kids over here and they happy. It's more of an environment to sit back and try to create some good music. As far as regular customers, I like to hear their shit before I even fuck with them. If I'm gonna put the Gas Chamber stamp on it I want it to be dope. Just like another studio, the engineer might not even rap or give a shit, you a dollar sign to them. I'm trying to make a hit factory. 510-537-8700. Go to my myspace it's linked to it. If you trying to get your game up, not just record. I will stop you in the middle of your verse and tell you to try it this way.
My whole camp be over here all the time, so if you a singer I got Droop over here, I got Ricc over here. Ready to fuck with you on your singing. Your constantly surrounded by people that's been doing this and proven. It's not like just some mothafuckas that's telling you do it like this and your like nigga who the fuck is you? What did you ever do.
**************.com: Whats the lead single your going with for this album?
Mr. Kee: The main one Im pushing is called Dance Like I Do. Mugso on that. The whole theme behind that is I ain't got no dreads but I dance like I do, shaking my head like a god damn fool. Outside the club I'm doin' the furl, going dumb in my scraper with my eyes on ya girl. You can see that whole hyphy movement, that's the crowd. Most likely the whole crowd ain't got no dreads they just going ridiculous. That's why I say shake your braids, shake yo fade, shake your hair if you a chick. It don't matter. That's my main single right there. I just shot a video Sunday for a song called Shine Your Chrome. We did it kind of late cause it's a summer song, but I wanted to knock out that video right there. Had alot of people come out and represent, all kind of Cutlasses, Muscle cars, most hated bike crew, the Ruff Ryderz, doing wheelies standing on they shit. That's getting edited, first thing I'm gonna do is shoot it all over MySpace. It's gonna be on Treal TV 3. That's the Thizz Latin version of Treal tv. I'm still workin on my DVD, I been working on it for a long time cause I want it to be right.
Mr. Kee: The Latin Boss Speaks to West Coast Rydaz
November 13, 2006 by nando
One of the most versatile bay area rappers returned this year with a new album in The First, The Last, The Only in a joint venture with the newly formed Thizz Latin . Mr. Kee is not an artist that can be just categorized as a "latin rapper", but as a rapper with depth, and a message in his music we can relate to. Although, he can get down with the hyphy crowd as he proved with this new album, Mr. Kee explains that he's still the same Kee we all know about in this exclusive interview.
**************.com: Talk about the new album, "The First, the Last, the Only".
Mr. Kee: It's in stores right now as we speak. It's a joint venture with Uprise Music Group, that's my label and Black N Brown and Thizz formed Thizz Latin. I got my Soldiers of Fortune on there, FAB, Mac Mall, it's a nice little album. The Latin Boss, First Last Only.
**************.com: What direction did you take with this new album?
Mr. Kee: On this one I kept it more bay compared to my last albums. Like on The One, I had alot of songs on there that could be more nationwide and international. This one I just got it all out of me as far as some of the knocks to the hyphy shit. We kept it really more bay on this one. But I got a little touch of Kee on there.
**************.com: Talk about why you chose to do business with Goldtoes again...your first album was through BNB and now the first Thizz Latin album was yours as well.
Mr. Kee: Since 18 Wit a Bullet, when he first signed me, I did the 14 Karat Dreams and did a two album deal with him. Then I did the Latin Plague and that was actually the first album that was Uprise also. He always knew I was trying to do my own thing anyway, so from there I dropped my next album The One. I always kept fucking with Goldtoes. We did the Game Untold, always just kept working with him. He holla'd at me about this opportunity he had with Kilo and Miami with Thizz Latin. My thing was, I already had the whole album damn near done. I didn't have no plans to drop it this year anyway so I was like let's do it, let's knock this out. One album deal and we just went ahead and put it together. I handed him the album and they just promote it and everything like that.
**************.com: Was this the album that was supposed to be the "God Amongst Men"?
Mr. Kee: I could say it's probably two or three tracks I transfered over to it that sound like it would fit this album, but it's definitely not A God Amongst Men. Like I said, everything else was just songs I was working on, I didn't know what I was gonna use em for and when he gave me the phone call it was like man this is perfect. That's why I switched the title real quick. I'm still working on God Amongst Men. It will probably be out early next year. I'm trying to get that major deal so that's gonna be back to the other nationwide level.
**************.com: Is this a 1 album deal type thing or are you going to be actively working with Thizz Latin?
Mr. Kee: I'm dealing with everybody on there. They got Freddy Chingaz, they got Jimmy Roses. They're getting alot of more people. Tito B. They're getting alot more people on that label. The only thing is, I do have my own label so it wasnt' like, oh this one album and let's stop. It's almost like an alter ego, I can keep working with them but I'm gonna keep working on my own shit too. So that was just to keep me open. I'm steady trying to get to that label deal with my label. That's why I never signed to no major label as just Mr. Kee. I got Uprise Music Group and my artists off there. Mugso, he won the 949 battle thing, and he working on his mixtape Rap Cocaine. I got Droop, R&B monster. I got Ricc, I got Sheisty, I got a whole gang of my soldiers working on my label.
**************.com: So you really plan to put out their projects?
Mr. Kee: Yeah and we own our own studio now too. In Castro Valley, it's called The Gas Chamber. 510-537-8700. We got the Protools and everything so now we working alot more efficiently. Everybody's in here working, so it's really on their pace. I started everybody with mixtapes so they can get their feet wet. What I'll probably do is make a real Soldiers of Fortune album. The last one was Bay Area 51, that had Cali Clap on it, The Bay, that got radio play on there. So I might do the album and just one last twist. Everybody's doing they mixtapes, but I'll probably do that and branch off from there on who's ready for their solos.
**************.com: I see you have a collab with Louie Loc on the album, we haven't heard you 2 on the same song since your first album. Is he fuckin with Thizz Latin and did you just get back in touch with him?
Mr. Kee: No, no no. It gets even better than that. Me Louie Loc and 10sion on all the same track!
It's straight. Everything's been good, I been in touch with him. We just been running parrallel lines though. Louie did the Power Moves, he's been working on his stuff and everybody got they own personal lives and issues. So everybody trying to get back on track. But that right there is damn near history as far as us 3 together on one song. That's never happened. We've all been on songs together, but never all 3 of us.
**************.com: What ever happened to the Tequila vs. Hennessey project with 10sion?
Mr. Kee: That was actually supposed to be Game Untold. That's what it started out as and the more we got into it, it turned into a compilation. You can hear me all over that album, and you can hear 10sion all over it too. It went from that to just getting redirected in the plans. But as far as that, that's still in the works. I just talked to them about it the other day. We were even talking about all three of us and two of my artists, Mugso and Droop in a group called The Untouchables. Five of us, the cover just like the Untouchables and all latin features, but as far as us, Droop is my R&B singer, Mugso is my pitbull as far as the lyrics and already 10sion and Louie Loc and myself. People I already mentioned it to were like oh shit.
**************.com: What is your opinion on the direction of things within the bay area these days?
Mr. Kee: I don't mind anything that sheds light on the bay. The whole hyphy movement is good with me. I got my stunna shades on too. You gotta just keep up with it. It's probably not gonna last forever, but at least it shed light over here. Now it's really on who's ready to shine. That's how I feel about it. I don't hate it, I don't love it to death. I'm just rolling with it. As long as the light is shined this way I'm good. I love the bay to death. 40 doing his thing, Keak doing his thing, FAB doing his thing. Everybody getting they recognition they deserve.
**************.com: What else do you have going on besides your solo. You on any other albums?
Mr. Kee: I'm on damn near everybody who's coming out on Thizz Latin. Just really been runing this studio. I engineer, I do damn near everything over here. That made my niche as far as my back up plan. I can't rap forever, that's why mothafuckas need to start picking up this torch and running with it. I worked hard to get this studio right here and now it's an outlet. It's an outlet for anyone who wants to fuck with me and up their game. We don't run it like a regular ass studio. You can lounge up in here. It's four rooms, a reception area. We got foozball. I took everything I loved and hated out of other studios. You can bring your kids over here and they happy. It's more of an environment to sit back and try to create some good music. As far as regular customers, I like to hear their shit before I even fuck with them. If I'm gonna put the Gas Chamber stamp on it I want it to be dope. Just like another studio, the engineer might not even rap or give a shit, you a dollar sign to them. I'm trying to make a hit factory. 510-537-8700. Go to my myspace it's linked to it. If you trying to get your game up, not just record. I will stop you in the middle of your verse and tell you to try it this way.
My whole camp be over here all the time, so if you a singer I got Droop over here, I got Ricc over here. Ready to fuck with you on your singing. Your constantly surrounded by people that's been doing this and proven. It's not like just some mothafuckas that's telling you do it like this and your like nigga who the fuck is you? What did you ever do.
**************.com: Whats the lead single your going with for this album?
Mr. Kee: The main one Im pushing is called Dance Like I Do. Mugso on that. The whole theme behind that is I ain't got no dreads but I dance like I do, shaking my head like a god damn fool. Outside the club I'm doin' the furl, going dumb in my scraper with my eyes on ya girl. You can see that whole hyphy movement, that's the crowd. Most likely the whole crowd ain't got no dreads they just going ridiculous. That's why I say shake your braids, shake yo fade, shake your hair if you a chick. It don't matter. That's my main single right there. I just shot a video Sunday for a song called Shine Your Chrome. We did it kind of late cause it's a summer song, but I wanted to knock out that video right there. Had alot of people come out and represent, all kind of Cutlasses, Muscle cars, most hated bike crew, the Ruff Ryderz, doing wheelies standing on they shit. That's getting edited, first thing I'm gonna do is shoot it all over MySpace. It's gonna be on Treal TV 3. That's the Thizz Latin version of Treal tv. I'm still workin on my DVD, I been working on it for a long time cause I want it to be right.