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Cool-V is a legend. Specifically the kind of legend you know very little about. That’s because he’s not out there for the limelight, he’s strictly about the music. As a DJ and producer that’s how he’s been since the late 70’s. Back then one didn’t make an impression on early hip hop stunting and showboating, as one might today. Today’s music moguls pay very little attention to hip hop pioneers, and it shows through the path the genre’s taken over the last ten years. Creative as he is cool, his production’s the reason why Biz Markie’s single “Just a Friend” went platinum. So next time your girl tells you her male friend is just that, what song is gonna play in your head? Exactly. Listen up.

I was raised all over the country but I was born in Elizabeth New Jersey. I lived in Florida for a little bit. I stayed in New York for a little bit, but Elizabeth was where I was born, went to school, came up, everything.

Elizabeth is real. It humbles me. No matter how big I got in music business, they always showed me love. It is what it is. I’m just me out there. That’s where I live right now.

I was always around music. My father was a DJ and so was my Uncle. I got a broad range of music. I listen to anything, you can basically name it. My father didn’t listen to Opera or anything like that but I picked up other things as I came around the way, but as far as records I got a broad range. I like The O’Jays, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, James Brown, and even Phoebe Snow. It’s crazy, it’s too much.

The first group I was fan of was Parliament Funkadelic. It was Parliament in the beginning and then it became Parliament Funkadelic. Michael Jackson is my favorite solo artist. If I was trapped on a desert island and I could only take three albums with me I’d take “The Best of Blue Magic,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin On” and “The Best of James Brown.” People would be surprised to know that I like Frank Sinatra. My favorite song by him is “When I was 17.”

I’ve had turntables since I was eleven. I had amps turntables mixers and all of that. As far as producing I never really thought about producing until I got with the Juice Crew. We were producing all our records but Marley had the equipment. I had beat-boxes and drum machines but I never used them for production ‘cause we were just doing parties.

We used to cut records and MC’s used to rhyme, but I never tried to make a record. Records were never in my sight. When I got with Mark the 45 King, he had a production setup in his crib. I was like “Yo you make records with this?” and he was like “Yea,” and it wasn’t that much and he made some funky records. I was like “Damn I got more than this at my house. I should try to make some records.” Then when I got with the Juice Crew Sly Ty was like “V you got good ideas you need to start producing. Just stay around Marley and pick up that production stuff,” and I picked up a lot.

Today I was working with the MPC 2000 and I’m just getting into the MPC 4000, but the SP 1200 is my favorite. That’s the one that worked the best with me. I’m real basic with mine I’m not real intricate like some producers are with extra stuff. I’m a DJ at the end of the day. The producing thing is rather easy to me ‘cause I just sample.

I’ve been DJing for twenty seven years and I’ve been making records for twenty years. I’ve been making records since ’85. I want to be remembered as that lil kid from Jersey who made it. I’m the first from Jersey that really made it from my town although there are people from my town that people don’t really know are from my town. Duke Booty was from Elizabeth. He was rhyming with Melle on The Message. Word of Mouth the MC’s from DJ Cheese that Duke Booty bought out, were from Elizabeth. One of the original Platters was from Elizabeth. New Jersey Mass Choir also. As far as music is concerned I know the history of my town, but as far as hip hop I’m the first DJ to come out of New Jersey and produce a platinum record.

I know everybody from Jersey, most of the people that came up came up with me or after. I hung in Jersey City with all the crews. I hung in East Orange, Lakewood, Asbury Park, Linden, and Roselle–all the real hip hop towns, and everybody knows me.

I would like to see a lot of record labels well not to say record labels, but being that the major record labels is what everybody looks at, I would love to see them keep the older cats in the game because a lot of them have a lot to offer. And being on both sides of the track I’m an older cat that some labels don’t be looking at as useful but I’m still working so I’m not bothered by that. There are a lot of cats I know personally that have a lot to offer to the game that the industry is not really accepting as knowing hip hop.

There are a lot of people at labels hired to know hip hop but don’t know the game. There are A&R’s who don’t really know the game. Some are business efficient which is cool too, you want someone like that in the business, but at the end of the day do they really love this music? Will they preserve this music? Are they willing to go the extra mile for something that you believe in instead of something that you know is safe?

I don’t got beef with nobody ‘cause I’m Cool-V. I’m cool with everybody but I see a lot of people get looked over when it comes to jobs. I even was thinking about being an A&R but they were questioning me as far as do I know hip hop. I came from biggest rap crew in history. There have only been two major crews in the game. I respect every member of the Wu-Tang Clan ‘cause it mirrored our crew. If you know anything about Wu-Tang you know everybody in Wu-Tang understood hip hop. Every person in the Juice Crew understood hip hop.

We battled other countries in hip hop. When we came up it was about battling. We battled Canada England. We’d go over there and crews would come up and want to battle us. So it wasn’t about us being out there to make a name for ourselves and be superstars. If those crews would have beat us we wouldn’t have a name. They’d be like “Yo we beat the Juice Crew.” That gets out in hip hop. But we didn’t have any weak links in our crew. “You want to battle the MC’s or the DJ’s?” It’s whatever. And I was on the forefront of that.

I understand emceeing. I’ve been with Kane when he’s writing records. I’ve been around G Rap when he’s writing records. I’ve been around the greatest MC’s ever. I’m with Biz, that’s my family. There aren’t too many MC’s that can get on stage with Biz and come on after. I’m just being honest. I’m not here making stuff up to pat myself on the back. If you ask me, “What’s hip hop?” This is what hip hop is.

I was young, paying to see Run DMC and even after I made records I’d pay to see them just out of respect. When I was coming up and they came out they changed the game. I’m from the old school and I respect Cold Crush and I be with all of them. That’s my era. I was fans of the people who invented hip hop. I’m cool with them now so I’m still a fan and I’m cool with them. They’re my boys and we come up, but the respect level isn’t there anymore in hip hop. People don’t respect the cats who paved the way for them to get money. I don’t have a problem with the new hip hop that’s coming up because there’s still money in the game for me to get. So like I said I’m on both sides of the track. I have nothing bad to say about hip hop. I’m doing the Game Platinum parties. I’m doing the Will Smith parties. We came up with Will Smith but he didn’t have to hire us. That’s just love and I feel that love so I’m not mad at anybody. There are some of my brothers that don’t get that love.

I just did a record with Busy Bee. He was on tour with KRS-ONE. They’re touring all around the world. That’s a good thing KRS took him, being that he still gets an opportunity like we do. Like I said he’s a lucky person. People still understand that he still works in hip hop.

To my satisfaction there are some people who won’t go the extra mile for a change. They don’t love it. [Their view is] If you sound like 50 I’ll sign you. If you don’t sound like what’s happening right now you won’t get signed. In Hip Hop we didn’t have that problem coming up because everyone had a chance to be themselves. You didn’t have to sound like nobody else.

In the 80’s everyone had an individual sound. At that time you had a Rakim that sounded like nobody. You had a Chuck D that sound like nobody else. You had a Heavy D, Salt N Pepa. Nobody sounded like nobody else. Everyone had the chance to express themselves in the way that they wanted without anyone pressuring them to be like somebody else.

This was because the labels were independent labels that took chances. By the time the artist made it to the major label they already had a fan base. Now that the game had changed to the majors, which was what everyone was aiming for, the majors wanted to be safe and wanted you to sound like the last person that came off. That’s what really messed the game up. It’s not the artist’s fault that they have talent and the label wants to sign them for some astronomical amount of money and they want them to sound a little bit like this guy. It’s not the artist’s fault he’s trying to feed his family. Why be mad at the artist? He’s not paying himself. And it aint all about money at the end of the day. That’s a job, somebody’s gonna work. That’s for the old heads that are hating on the new cats. Somebody’s got to work.

Maybe there’s a lot of negativity in the music but there’s a lot of negativity in the street. You can’t change the street so you can’t change the music. People want to say “it’s negative” but the streets are negative. Until we get some positive brothers on the frontline making a difference and putting in time with the young cats and making them understand that there is a positive way out of here, you’re gonna get this [negative] stuff out here.

I prefer to keep it positive. I do community interventions and I’m talking to the young cats. I never thought I’d be doing that, but I feel it’s my job. My man Ras Baraka, deputy Mayor of Newark, came up to me and asked me to be a part of the Hip-Hop for the people movement. It’s a good thing and a lot of people need to back that. You don’t have believe in everything it’s all about, but if gangs are willing to come together and make peace with themselves and they’re willing to put their lives on the line and get with the other side to understand. I never risked my life to make a record. This is serious right now. If you could get killed for hanging with a nigga from across town, I hang everywhere, so I can’t understand that. But I talk with these brothers so I understand that. If someone’s willing to risk their life to make a change in their community somebody in that community needs to risk some of their time to help these brothers do that. Cause everyone in a gang ain’t bad.

Ras was the first person to come to me and ask me to be a part of that. This is jersey, and in Jersey I know a lot of people. I ran through a lot of hoods. I’m out there. I still do block parties on the block. You can’t get any name brand person to bring their equipment on a block that’s supposed to be a gang block.

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