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[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
In 2001 you released (among many) the "Men Of Honor" cd. 2002 brought only A.L.G.'s second solo and Young D's debut. Then in 2003 I think there was only Dyno's solo. Comparing to previous market floodings why were you guys so silent in 2002 - 2004?
[ Crooked ] :
I wouldn't say that we were silent. The majority of artists out there release one album a year and some of them release only 1 album every few years. We simply released only a few CDs, but we never stopped doing this Darkroom thing. Also, we've been very busy with the movies. We're always working on movies all year long. We're not always filming, but we're always doing something with the movies. We're always writing new scripts and working on pre-production for the latest films or actual production on the latest films. And that takes up a lot of our time. Also, me, Duke, D-Roll, Oso, K.I.D., we're all married and most of us in the group have kids. So family life also takes over. Especially for me, Duke and D-Roll. We're not youngsters in our 20s with no responsibilities anymore. We're in our 30s with wives and kids. Plus the movies that me and Duke make are much bigger than the music, and we love to write, direct and produce films, so that's our main thing. But we still do rap and we hit the studio real hard in 2007 because it became fun again and it still makes money.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
In 2004 the situation slowly changed as "Return Of The Living Vets" came out. Then "Family Reunion" in 2005 and "Northern
Cali's Finest" in 2006. Finally 2007 was one of the best years for Darkroom Familia fans (7 cds dropped). Why did the game change so rapidly?
[ Crooked ] :
We were thinking really hard about retiring from rap. We've been doing it for so long. Since we were kids in 1988. And basically rap didn't excite us anymore, the cops and feds were out to get us, we had Darkroom members catching cases and fighting federal racketeering charges and we really didn't need to rap. So it kind of became not worth it anymore. I didn't need the money. We busted our asses hustling like crazy for so many years and we were able to buy houses and get the fuck out of the ghetto a long time ago, and we've got a great career making movies so we didn't really need to keep making music.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Can you say a little something about the 2007 DRF flood? I mean basically what fans can expect, is it still the same
Darkroom or did you guys experiment with some new sounds?
[ Crooked ] :
If you've been following us for years, then you know that I've been producing beats for us for a LONG time now and Duke has always produced for us. So we absolutely have that same sound. We also use different producers too, like Unknown and our homie Blokkmonsta from Hirntot Records in Germany, and our homie Raul Martinez and we also have Dub when we need him. The music sound is gonna change of course because it's not 1988 anymore. Just like it changed from 1988 to 1994 and from 1994 to 1999. You feel me? It's 2008 now. The music sound is gonna change, but it's heart and core stays the same because we've always kept it true. We've always repped Northern California and we've always put it down for the streets 'cause that's where we're from. We're not gonna rap about platinum chains and rims. 'Cause we don't give a fuck about that shit. I don't own a platinum chain, but I own a house. Feel
me? That's the difference. Instead of buying bullshit, like chains and cars and rims and champaign and cute clothes like a fuckin' fashion model, I bought a house. You can't live in a chain. A car ain't gonna last you long. But the house I bought with my hard-earned money, that's for life. I was able to leave the fucked up ghetto and buy a house in a good neighborhood so I can raise my son in a good environment. So as far as our sound, some of the music
might have changed/upgraded for the times, but as far as the DARKROOM sound, no it's still the same. We still spit the realest shit out there. We still make that raw, dark, underground, street shit that we're known for.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Who is in the DRF as for now?
[ Crooked ] :
The same as it's been for the last few years now: me, Duke, Oso, D-Roll, K.I.D., Young D, Unknown, Venomous, Young Crayze, Emaculate and Big Dru.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
You have new members on the team. Unknown and Venomous even released their solos on your label. What about Emaculate and Young Crayze? Do you have equally serious plans with these artists or were they with you only for a while?
[ Crooked ] :
We've been slowly and steadily working on Young
Crayze's solo. He's taking his time with it so it
comes out real nice. Also, he knows he has to build
his name up more so that fans know who he is and know
his style and sound. Emaculate hasn't approached us
about doing a solo. I think he'll do one when he feels
he's ready for one. But he also knows he needs to
build his name up more. But everyone out there needs
to go buy that Unknown "Addicted To The Hustle" and
that Venomous "I See Dead People" 'cause those albums
are both dope as fuck. And on that note, you should
all go buy that K.I.D. "East Bay Raider" and that
D-Roll "The Game Don't Love You." Matter of fact, buy
yourself two copies and give some game to one of your
friends.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Yeah, we've got D-Roll back in the rap
game. What happened to him? Only the eldest fans can remember him from
the early recordings. How did you guys hook up again?
[ Crooked ] :
D-Roll, started a family and moved away a few hours
from us in the Valley. He went to a technical school.
At the time he had to take care of his kids and his
family so he had to do what was best for him. He ended
up finishing school and moved back to the Bay. Then he
contacted me and it's been on ever since. He's an
original Darkroom member. He was there when we started
Darkroom too. Him and Oso. And as you can see, he's
still a beast on the mic. His album "The Game Don't
Love You" is tight as fuck too.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
What is the situation with Sir Dyno? When can the fans expect him
to come back. Is there any chance he'd rap again?
[ Crooked ] :
He's been in prison since 2004. He's scheduled to be
released in 2010. And sorry to say to the fans, but
he's retired from rap. By the time he gets out, he'll
be close to 40 years old. And he has 5 kids to take
care of. He just wants to get out and take care of his
family. That's it. But he is no longer in Darkroom. He
hasn't been in Darkroom since he got locked up back in
2004.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
I know that people being the foundation of DRF (ex. you and Duke) are not the same people as in the 90's era as you
grew older and learnt many things since then. Are you still interested in
rapping, producing etc? Or would you rather look after the label and see
how the new generation is growing and also focus on movies?
[ Crooked ] :
Me, Duke & Dyno started Darkroom. Oso and D-Roll were
there since the beginning. That's the foundation of
Darkroom. We've always been here. People who we helped
in the mid-'90s, they came and went for a reason. But
the foundation is here and has always been here. We
helped a lot of people along the way, and we got
burned because of it, so we shut the doors on Darkroom
except for a few close homies who we've known for
years like K.I.D. (he's been homies with Oso since
they were kids) and Young D, Unknown and the other
homies. But as far as us keeping the label going,
honestly, we do it for fun now and as long as it still
makes money, we'll keep going. But once we're done,
that's it. There will be no more Darkroom. 'Cause once
me and Duke don't wanna do it anymore, Oso, D-Roll and
K.I.D. and everyone else aren't gonna wanna do it
either. But at the same time, we all have our own
things going on in our own lives, ya know? Everyone
has their own passions in life and mine and Duke's
happen to be filmmaking. We'll always do movies no
matter what. The movie business has been good to us
and we love doing it. But who knows? One week I'll be
sick of doing rap and the next week I wanna record 10
albums and film 8 movies.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
So can we expect some more solos from you or Duke or are you planning to stay in the background right now?
[ Crooked ] :
We've always liked staying in the background. We've
always liked being behind the scenes. We never wanted
any part of the spotlight at all. We don't give a shit
about being known or being famous in any way, shape or
form. We've always been about making money. Fuck fame,
just give me money. Feel me? As far as any solos from
me or Duke, well, I don't really know. It all depends
on how I feel on a particular day. Like I said, one
day I'll feel like writing some lyrics and shitting on
fools and the next day, I can't stand rap and I don't
wanna do shit except be with my family. Lately, every
time I see some shitty music video or read some dumb
ass rapper say stupid ignorant shit in interviews, it
actually fuels us to keep making music and just
shitting on all these weak muthafuckers. So who knows?
We've talked about making some solos or possibly a
duet album-Duke & Crooked together on one CD. A lot of
fans want us to do a duet album and solos, so we'll
see. The demand is there and keeps getting bigger, so
we just might.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Darkroom Familia has been self-sufficient and
self-dependent for years. You wrote and recorded your own verses, did
your own production, designed the covers and sold units independently.
Guest appearances were something uncommon on your projects. Do you have any
plans to collaborate with known people (vocals and production
wise) from the Bay or would you rather stick to your formula?
[ Crooked ] :
We'll collaborate with any dope artists out there that
are real and wanna fuck with us. But one thing we
won't do and have never done, is pay a fellow artist
to collab with us. That's some egomaniac shit to do.
So we don't really ask anyone to collab 'cause if some
artist told me that I have to pay them, I'd probably
tell them to eat my shit. That's just me speaking
personally. And unfortunately, that's the problem with
rap. No one wants to help anyone. That's why you see
the same artists collaborating with each other.
There's no unity. No muthafuckers that are at the top
wanna do shit with anyone else. That goes for all rap
regions. Especially in the Bay. A lot of people talk
about "the Bay is back" and "the Bay is united" but
it's all bullshit 'cause like I said, there is no
unity. We're as divided as ever. Look at when Death
Row was running shit, did they reach out to help
anyone? No. When they were hollerin' "WEST COAST" and
"WEST SIDE" where was the Bay? We've ALWAYS been here.
We've ALWAYS made noise, but did any of those artists
reach out to the Bay? No. Do you know how fucking HARD
that shit would've been if the BAY was alongside those
fools? Shit, it would've been some crazy historic
unstoppable shit. At least 2Pac tried ya know? He came
and put E-40 and C-Bo on his album. The West Coast
could've locked the game up and continued to run it to
this day, but when fools blow up and say "West Coast"
they don't wanna help anyone but themselves and their
region. They'll easily steal our slang words and our
game and our sound and won't give credit, but they
won't even act like Northern California and The Bay
Area exist. And that shit pisses me off. No one helped
us get to where we've gotten. We did it all ourselves.
We've always driven the train so either ride with us
or get off the track. Either way, we don't care. We're
still doing what we do.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
What happened to Dub? I think I last saw him on
Return Of The Living Vets cd.
[ Crooked ] :
Dub is still around. He's one of our best homies.
We'll be homeboys for life. He was at my wedding. He's
one of the few homies I know that truly has had our
back. Darkroom is all about loyalty. We don't like
disloyal muthafuckers ya know? As far as rap, Dub
doesn't really care about rapping. He never really
did. He was always a producer and a homie. He still
makes music-production wise, 'cause he's a talented
and musical individual. He's a musician and he can
play a few instruments. But he does it 'cause he loves
it. He's also heavily into bikes (motorcycles) and
he's built some custom-Harleys. He rides a lot with
his Biker homies. But like I said, we always talk.
He's heard all the latest albums and he's always there
for us for production. So, hopefully, on some newer
albums we'll get some dope Dub-Psychodelik Production.
It's just a matter of finding the time since we're
both pretty busy.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Crooked, do you keep track of how many albums you
released? Any approximate number?
[ Crooked ] :
We have done easily 100+ albums. We sat down and made
a list a while back when it was around 78 albums, but
it's been a while. I'll have to sit down and make a
list. We've been doing this since 1988 homie. 20 years
in this game and still selling.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
2008 started with Darkroom Familia re-releasing
their hard-to-find and sought after albums. Could you tell us something
more about it? What is there more to come apart from Homicide Kings?
[ Crooked ] :
We JUST released the classic "Darkroom
Familia-Homicide Kings" with 2 NEW tracks. That's
something for the fans. A LOT of fans were asking us
to release that CD again 'cause it was out-of-print,
so we did and it's doing good. And yeah there's more
coming. Next up is "Darkroom Familia-Smile Now, Cry
Later" CD & DVD combo. We put them together in ONE
package. That's also something that has been
out-of-print and fans have been asking us for as well.
We also have the out-of-print classics "Duke-Kill Them
Slowly & Crooked-Violence Solves Everything" together
on ONE CD. And a few other things we're gonna
re-release and then a bunch of new projects and
movies.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
How do you plan to do put Kill Them Slowly and Violence Solves everything on one cd when those 2 albums combined last
more than 80 minutes?
[ Crooked ] :
Some of those tracks had really long fade-outs and
some of them we let the beat ride-out for a while too.
That's one of the reasons they are so long. So we went
into the mastering studio and trimmed them a bit. We
faded tracks out earlier and made both albums fit onto
one CD. But the entire songs are all there. Both
albums have been out-of-print for years now and they
are considered classics. The fans wanted it, so we're
giving it to them.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Except for re-releases what are the plans for 2008
and upcoming years?
[ Crooked ] :
We've got "DARKROOM FAMILIA-20 YEARS UP IN THIS GAME"
2CD set coming out to celebrate our 20th anniversary,
1988-2008. It's gonna be a 40-track DOUBLE-CD package
with 4 Brand New tracks made exclusively for that
double-CD release and the cover folds-out into a
full-color Darkroom Familia poster. We've got
"Darkroom Familia-Collaboz" CD coming out which is
some BRAND NEW unreleased tracks and all the very rare
and hard-to-find collaborations we've done with other
artists on both coasts and also over seas. The
majority of the tracks, most people have not heard and
some have never been released and some have only been
released in Europe. We've done tracks with German
artists, like our homeboy Blokkmonsta and his crew
from Hirntot Records. We also made tracks for some
other German homies. So those tracks were only
released in Germany and throughout Europe. The album
has all these tracks on ONE CD, so the fans will love
it. Trust me. Also, the brand new "Darkroom Familia-20
Years Up In This Game" CD. We also got the NEW
"Darkroom Familia Traficantes-Conecta Del Norte" CD
coming up as well as a few other projects like the
movie and soundtrack for "I GOT FIVE ON IT TOO."
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
How do you find the situation on East Bay rap scene?
[ Crooked ] :
As far as the East Bay Latin scene, it's really a
Northern Cali scene. It's something that we helped
create. Feel me? It feels great to know that we
directly and indirectly influenced so many artists to
make music and do their thing. So many homies have
told us how much we've inspired and influenced them.
Like I've said before, we didn't just open the doors
for this scene, we kicked the fuckin' door down and
laid the foundation, paved the way for Northern Cali
Latin rap. Before us there was no one. There was no
scene. We made the scene. We came in and forced stores
to carry our shit. We created the demand for it. We
showed the stores that we could sell and that there's
an audience for our shit. And it's great. At the same
time, artists like Too $hort helped pave the way for
the whole Bay Area and Northern Cali. 'Cause of $hort,
he proved that local independent rap can sell. So he
made it possible for us, and we made it possible for
all the Northern Cali Latin rappers who came after us.
When I was talking earlier about rappers not helping
each other, I was talking about the super-star rapper
muthafuckers. Feel me? But as far as Bay Area/Northern
Cali homeboys, we all collaborate. We haven't ALL
collaborated together yet, but a lot of us have.
That's the difference between Bay Area/Northern Cali
homeboys, we all collaborate with each other and make
tight music. We haven't experienced any kind of ego
shit up here. Feel me? It's all Northern love.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
And the situation in rap overall?
[ Crooked ] :
As far as the current situation in the rap game and my
view on the trends, well to me the current situation
is pure shit. The music is horrible right now and it's
been that way for a while. There's very few artists
that are doing anything dope or real. Muthafuckers
rappin' about the stupidest shit like their gold or
platinum chains and their fuckin' clothes and
champaign and going to clubs and their cars and what
size their rims were. It's a fuckin' joke. All that
wack ass shit is saying nothing. We're truly from the
'hood so we can't relate to all that bullshit. All
those pussy ass rappers would get robbed in the 'hood.
Seriously. Those muthafuckers would get robbed and
stabbed or shot for being in the 'hood wearing their
pussy jewelry and fur coats. They would get
car-jacked. They would get their champaign bottles
broken over their heads. No one in the ghetto walks
around wearing platinum jewelry and shit. Muthafuckers
in the ghetto are poor. But you got all these bitch
ass rappers rappin' like the 'hood is a cool place to
be in. Like it's a fuckin' party or some shit. Well I
don't know what 'hood these muthafuckers are from, but
in Northern Cali 'hoods, there ain't no fuckin' party
goin' on. There ain't no Crystal Champaign bottles
goin' around. There ain't no fuckin' platinum jewelry
anywhere and no one gives a fuck about your rim size.
There's just poor people suffering and trying to make
enough money to pay the bills while they watch out for
the next muthafucker trying to rob their shit. In the
'hood there's robberies, there's rapes, there's
murders, there's knife fights, there's gangbangers
doing drive-bys, there's drugs being sold and used,
there's prostitution and there's cops fuckin' with
people. Just suffering. That's it. That's the life we
all grew up experiencing and seeing up close. So, when
I hear or see pussy ass fake rappers portraying the
ghetto like it's fucking fun and good times, it pisses
me off. They're glamorizing the 'hood like it's
Disneyland. When they should be telling muthafuckers
to get out of the ghetto before it's too late. That
fuckin' ignorant mentality is why so many muthafuckers
STAY in the 'hood for their whole lives instead of
working your ass off to get the fuck out.
The other reason why the current state of rap is
fucked up is because of all the muthafuckers that are
downloading underground/indepdendent artists for free,
they are killing music. It's gotten really hard to
make new music for everyone especially
underground/independent artists like us. Go download
some fucking millionaire rap stars, don't download
underground/independent rappers like us 'cause you're
basically stealing from us. You're taking food out of
our kids' mouths. and I tell everyone that downloads
for free: You're KILLING underground/independent rap.
And I'm being serious. If there's no one to buy and
support the rap that underground/independent rappers
make, then what's the point in making it? People need
to understand that this shit is a job. It's like you
going to a regular job working 40-50 hours a week and
then coming home with nothing. How do you live? How do
you eat? How do you feed your family. Feel me? That's
the honest truth. Don't fucking download shit for
free. You are truly killing the music that you love to
hear. Go to LEGAL download sites for Darkroom Familia
music like: iTunes.com, Napster.com, Rhapsody.com,
Amazon.com/mp3, emusic.com, ruckusnetwork.com. The
albums are high-quality mp3s and you can get single
tracks for .99 cents or whole albums for $9.99 and
that's cheaper than you can get the CD for at the
stores.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Quiroz Brothers are also deep in the filming industry. What
are you preparing this time?
[ Crooked ] :
We JUST finished up "I GOT FIVE ON IT TOO" a sequel to
the cult classic "I GOT FIVE ON IT." It's another
funny ass weed comedy like the last one, but even
better. This one stars television star Todd Bridges
(like the first one too) from "Diff'rent Strokes" and
"Everybody Hates Chris" and we brought the whole cast
back and added some new characters. We're releasing it
this year on DVD and we're releasing the soundtrack.
We're also working on some scripts that we'll be
shooting next, but they're a secret for now. We'll
keep people updated on our websites:
www.pumpkinpatchpictures.com
www.myspace.com/thepumpkinpatchpictures
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
Why are midgets scary?
[ Crooked ] :
I love horror movies and when I was a kid I saw this
movie called "Phantasm" in the '70s and it scared the
shit out of me. They had these creepy little midgets
in that movie and they were scary as fuck. So that
shit made me scared of little people. But I kicked it
with Wee-Man from "Jackass" and he was cool so I'm not
afraid of midgets anymore. Plus I just thought the
title was funny, so I used it.
[ Bay Undaground.com ] :
If there's anything more you'd like to say, please
go ahead. Having so many questions in mind I might have forgot
something.
[ Crooked ] :
My only last words are that I wish fools would quit
making bullshit songs and albums about meaningless
bullshit. I don't give a fuck about your fucking gay
jewelry, I don't give a fuck about your pussy fur
coat, I don't give a fuck if you have rims bigger than
an elephant's balls. Save that bullshit for some bitch
you're trying to impress. 'Cause NO ONE in the 'hood
can relate to that fake shit. If you ain't spittin'
real shit that people can relate to or feel, then you
shouldn't be making music at all. And to that
bitch-made rapper who continues to bite our BAY AREA
slang and style and claiming he invented it, get off
our nuts muthafucker! Get on your own shit bitch. Your
whole gimmick is nothing but a BITE. You fizzle me
muthafizzle? And once again, only download Darkroom
Familia music LEGALLY please. Support the music that
you love. If not, you're only helping to kill it. And
MUCH MUCH LOVE to ALL the DARKROOM FAMILIA fans
WORLDWIDE for showing us so much love and support for
the last 20 years! THANK YOU ALL. And also, much love
to the homies at BayUndaground.com
for the love and support and for this interview. And
to our Polish fans, much love to you all. Thank you
for being TRUE fans! Come visit us online at:
www.myspace.com/darkroomfamilia
www.myspace.com/thepumpkinpatchpictures
www.brownpowerrecords.com
www.darkroomstudiosonline.com
And again, you can get DARKROOM FAMILIA music online
for LEGAL download PLEASE at:
itunes.COM, www.napster.com, www.rhapsody.com
www.amazon.com/mp3, emusic.com, ruckusnetwork.com
The albums are high-quality mp3s and you can get
single tracks for .99 cents or whole albums for $9.99
and that's cheaper than you can get the CD for at the
stores.
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