THE LEGEND: GRANDMASTER CAZ
BRONX, NEW YORK | GRANDMASTER CAZ
INTERVIEW: KIM “GOODLOOK” SEABROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY: A1A PRODUCTIONS
VALIDATED: BEING FROM THE BRONX, NEW YORK, WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF HIP-HOP CULTURE?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: MOST PEOPLE WERE BORN INTO THE HIP-HOP CULTURE BUT THERE WAS NO HIP-HOP CULTURE YET. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? WHEN I WAS INVOLVED AND I’D LIKE TO SAY I’VE BEEN INVOLVED SINCE ITS INCEPTION, UNLESS YOU TRACE HIP-HOP’S ROOTS BACK TO OTHER THINGS. BUT FOR OUR GENERATION I WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF IT. I DIDN’T START IT BUT LIKE I SAY IN A SONG, ”I DIDN’T BUILD THE BUILDING BUT I DAMN SURE MADE THE LOBBY”.
VALIDATED: YOU STARTED OFF DJ’ING UNDER THE NAME CASANOVA FLY AND LATER BECAME AN EMCEE UNDER THE NAME GRANDMASTER CAZ. HOW DID THE TRANSITION FROM DJ TO EMCEE HAPPEN?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: WELL I MEAN DJ AND EMCEE WAS A DUAL ROLE FOR ME IN THE EARLY DAYS. IT WAS ALL MY SET, MY EQUIPEMENT, MY CREW, EVERYTHING! SO I DID A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW. AND IN THE EARLY DAYS EVERY DJ HAD TO HAVE A MICROPHONE AND IT WASN’T ABOUT RAPPING. IT WAS JUST ABOUT MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS, KNOW WHAT I MEAN? IF YOU WERE IN A PARTY BACK IN THE EARLY 70’S AND EVERYBODY IN THE PARTY DANCING HAVING A GOOD TIME AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE MUSIC STOPS. THEN YOU HEAR SOMEBODY GET ON THE MIC, “KIM, KIM SEABROOK, IF YOU IN THE HOUSE YOUR FATHERS AT THE DOOR. PLEASE GO TO THE DOOR.” AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GO LEAVE AND THE REST OF US, WE GOING BACK TO GET IT IN. YEAH THE MIC WAS USED TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND STUFF, ACKNOWLEDGE PEOPLE, SAY WHEN THE NEXT PARTY WAS, ETC. THEN THOSE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS STARTED TO GET EMBELLISHED, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? PEOPLE STARTED PUTTING A SPIN ON THEM AND THEN PEOPLE STARTED PUTTING IT INTO LITTLE RHYMES AND THEN VERSES AND STUFF, WHICH EVENTUALLY LED TO RAP AS WE KNOW IT. SO ME, AS A DJ I’VE ALWAYS HAD A MICROPHONE THERE. WHEN PEOPLE STARTED RECRUITING OTHER PEOPLE TO EMCEE FOR THEM I JUST HAPPEN TO BE JUST AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN MOST OF THE EMCEES. SO IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I NEEDED TO DO MYSELF ESPECIALLY IF WE WERE GOING TO BE COMPETITIVE. SO EMCEEING WAS THE NEXT STEP AFTER BEING A DJ.
VALIDATED: YOU’RE CREDITED AS BEING THE FIRST DJ TO RAP WHILE HANDLING RECORDS ON THE TURNTABLES IN HIP-HOP. HOW DID THE IDEA COME ABOUT?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: PEOPLE LIKE TO GIVE YOU TITLES AND STUFF. A LOT OF TIMES YOU JUST GO ALONG WITH IT, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? THEY CALL ME THE FIRST SIMULTANEOUS DJ EMCEE. MEANING MORE SPECIFICALLY THAT I CUT RECORDS FOR MYSELF WHILE I’M EMCEEING. OKAY, NOW YOU GOT DJ’S LIKE LOVEBUG STARSKI AND DJ HOLLYWOOD AND WITH THESE GUYS THE MICROPHONE WENT HAND AND HAND WITH THEM DJ’ING THE TURNTABLES BUT NOBODY ACTUALLY CUT A BEAT UP AND RAPPED LIKE SAYING RHYMES AT THE SAME TIME. SO THATS WHAT THEY CREDIT ME WITH. THERE'S A GUY BY THE NAME OF J. PERIOD THAT DOES THAT FOR THIS ERA FOR THIS GENERATION. BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT, SO I MEAN I WAS THE FIRST PERSON THAT I SAW DO THAT. I NEVER SAW NOBODY ELSE DO IT SO IT IS WHAT IT IS BUT I DON’T REALLY LIKE ALL THE TITLES YOU KNOW. “I WAS THE FIRST TO DO THIS… I HAD MY HAT ON BACKWARDS FIRST.” LOL
VALIDATED: FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW THE HISTORY, WHAT WAS YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE GROUNDBREAKING SUGARHILL GANG'S SONG “RAPPERS DELIGHT”?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: I WROTE PART OF “RAPPERS DELIGHT”. I WROTE THE MAJORITY OF BIG BANK HANK’S LYRICS FOR “RAPPERS DELIGHT” AND A COUPLE OF OTHER PHRASES THAT HE USED WERE TAKEN FROM OTHER PEOPLE BUT I WROTE THE BODY OF HIS RHYMES ON THAT SONG. SO THAT MAKES ME UNINVERTINTLY HIP-HOP’S FIRST GHOST WRITER. LOL YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND ALL OF THESE THINGS AREN’T THINGS THAT I PURSUE BUT YOU KNOW WHEN PEOPLE GO TO DISSECT THE CULTURE AND LOOK AT YOUR HISTORY THEY BE LIKE “YOU DID THAT.”, “EVERYBODY SAYS THAT YOU DID THAT.”
VALIDATED: YOU STILL GET CHECKS FOR THAT?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: WHAT GHOSTWRITER? I’VE NEVER GOTTEN A CHECK EVER FOR “RAPPERS DELIGHT”. I WAS NEVER CREDITED AS A WRITER ON THE SONG AND I NEVER RECEIVED A DIME FROM “RAPPERS DELIGHT” TO THIS DAY. I MEAN I HAVEN’T REALLY FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL OR ANYTHING. I PRETTY MUCH WALKED ABOUT FROM THE S*** IN THE BEGINNING AND THAT'S WHY I REALLY COULDN’T CLAIM MUCH AFTERWARDS BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T DO NOTHING RIGHT THEN AND THERE YOU GOT 3 TO 7 YEARS. WELL 7 YEARS IN THE BEGINNING, THE LAWS HAVE CHANGED AND IF YOU DON’T BY THEN AFTER THAT IF SOMETHING CHANGES YOU ONLY GOT 3 YEARS THAT YOU CAN GO BACK. SO LETS SAY I SUED THE SUGARHILL GANG OR WHOEVER FOR “RAPPERS DELIGHT” RIGHT NOW, I CAN ONLY GO BACK 3 YEARS AND RECLAIM WHATEVER'S BEEN MADE OFF OF IT FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS. I MAKE MORE MONEY OFF TELLING THE STORY. LOL
VALIDATED: YOU WERE ARGUABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL PIONEERS OF HIP-HOP (“OLD SCHOOL RAP”) IN THE 80’S. HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF TODAY AND WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THE TABLE IN THIS ERA?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: SAME THING I’VE ALWAYS BROUGHT TO THE TABLE, MY PASSION, YOU KNOW I MEAN? MY SKILL AND MY LOVE, MY LOVE FOR THIS CULTURE. I LIVE, SLEEP, DRINK AND DO EVERYTHING TO HIP-HOP THAT YOU CAN DO. IT’S BASICALLY MY LIFE AND I CHOSE IT A LONG TIME AGO. A LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAD TO TAKE SECOND PLACE, PLAY SECOND FIDDLE DUE TO MY LOVE AND PASSION FOR HIP-HOP. SO I BRING THAT TO THE TABLE. I BRING AN OVERWHELMING KNOWLEDGE TO THE CULTURE. I’M NOT ONLY A TEACHER OF THE CULTURE BUT A STUDENT. I WATCHED EVERYBODY, I SAW EVERYTHING AND I TOOK EVERYTHING IN. YOU KNOW I WASN’T EVERYWHERE BUT IF I WASN’T I FOUND OUT WHO WAS WHO AND WHAT WAS WHAT. SO I’M ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAS BEEN CALLED ON IN THE LAST 15 TO 20 YEARS TO REALLY ARTICULATE THE CULTURE THROUGH DOCUMENTARIES, INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT VEHICLES LIKE THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW, “HE KNOW WHAT HE TALKING ABOUT!”.
VALIDATED: NOW YOU TALKED ABOUT YOU LIVE IT, YOU BREATHE IT, SO I KNOW THAT THERE HAD TO BE MANY SACRIFICES DURING ALL THESE YEARS OF YOU DOING THIS. WAS THERE EVER A TIME THAT YOU WANTED TO GIVE UP?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: OH YEAH, AND PART OF ME DID GIVE UP FOR A WHILE. DURING THE MID 80’S OR IN THE EARLY 80’S THERE WAS A SHIFT, A CRAZY SHIFT IN HIP-HOP AND IT WENT FROM HIP-HOP TO RAP MUSIC. WHEN IT WAS HIP-HOP, THE EARLY GROUPS LIKE MINE, THE COLD CRUSH BROTHERS, THE FURIOUS FIVE, THE FANTASTIC FIVE, THE FORCE MD’S, THE FUNKY FOUR, THE FEARLESS 4... ALL THESE GROUPS DOMINATED THE LANDSCAPE OF HIP-HOP. THEN ONCE “RAPPERS DELIGHT” CAME OUT THE FLOODGATES WERE OPENED AS FAR AS TO TRY TO MAKE A RECORD. SO THEN THERE WAS NO, LETS SAY “QUALITY CONTROL”, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS WHO MADE A RECORD. LIKE ANYBODY COULD GO MAKE A RECORD. YOU DIDN’T NEED NO STATUS, YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO PAY NO DUES OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? IF YOU CAME UP WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT OR WHATEVER, SOMETHING SOMEBODY THOUGHT THAT THEY COULD USE OR WHATEVER YOU WERE A HIP-HOP ARTIST OR A RAPPER AFTER THAT. SO, I MEAN THAT CHANGED THE SCALES GREATLY.
VALIDATED: AND YOU SAID THIS WAS IN THE 80’S?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: YEAH, THIS WAS EARLY 80’S TO MID 80’S BECAUSE THE FIRST GENERATION OF HIP-HOP STARTED TO PHASE OUT AND IF YOU HADN’T GAINED ANY COMMERCIAL SUCCESS IN THE RECORDS. I MEAN, ‘CAUSE WE WERE ALREADY ON TOP BEFORE RECORDS CAME ALONG. WE WERE THE TOP GROUP IN NEW YORK CITY, EVERYBODY EMULATED US, EVERYBODY. BUT NOW YOU CHANGE THE GAME. THERE’S A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC NOW BECAUSE NOW YOU HAVE TO MAKE A HIT RECORD. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SO THAT WAS A BIG SHIFT. SO YEAH AFTER A WHILE THE FIRST SCHOOL, OUR GENERATION OF HIP-HOP JUST STARTED TO DIE OUT. THEY STOPPED PROMOTING US AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO BY 85’, 86’ SOME OF US WERE BARELY HOLDING ON. 86’, THAT WAS IT! THERE WAS NO REAL OL’ SCHOOL GROUP THAT WAS STILL OUT AND VIABLE. EVEN THE FURIOUS FIVE WERE GOING THROUGH THEIR CHANGES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. THE FIRST SCHOOL OF HIP-HOP WAS PRETTY MUCH OVER WITH SO WE BECAUSE OF BAD MANAGEMENT AND RECORD COMPANY MANAGEMENT NEVER ECLIPSED THAT COMMERCIAL SIDE OF HIP-HOP. WE FADED OUT WITH EVERYBODY ELSE BUT I TRIED TO HOLD ON. I WAS LIKE, “WAIT, HOLD ON. I’M STILL HERE! I’M STILL HERE!” LOL
VALIDATED: SO WHAT GAVE YOU THAT STRENGTH TO HOLD ON AND KEEP GOING?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: WELL THE GROUP ERA FADED OUT. THERE WERE NO MORE GROUPS OF 5, GROUPS OF 4 EMCEES, YOU WERE LUCKY IF YOU FOUND 3 TOGETHER. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, AND USUALLY THAT 3RD PERSON WAS A DJ BY THEN. SO THAT WHOLE DYNAMIC OF GROUPS WAS JUST KIND OF PHASED OUT. SO NOW WHERE DO WE GO? WHAT DO WE DO, SIT ON THE SIDELINES? WE WERE OL’ SCHOOL IN 85’, 86’ OKAY, SO WHERE ARE WE GOING? SO YEAH, IT DID REALLY PUT A DAMPER ON NOT ONLY MINE BUT MY WHOLE FIRST GENERATION OF HIP-HOPPERS. I HELD ON BECAUSE I STILL HAD SOMETHING TO OFFER PERSONALLY. I KNEW IT WAS PRETTY MUCH OVER FOR MY GROUP BUT IT AIN’T OVER ME. ANYONE OF US AS INDIVIDUALS COULD’VE TRIED TO KEEP GOING OR DO WHAT THEY DO. SO I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT I DID. I HAD A DEAL AFTER OUR DEAL WAS UP ON THE LABEL AND I CONTINUED TO MAKE RECORDS, MAKE SINGLES ON MY OWN AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ARTIST AND PEOPLE. JUST DO EVERYTHING I COULD DO TO JUST STAY RELEVANT AND STAY IN THE GAME.
VALIDATED: “WINDOWS OF HIPHOP!” EXPLAIN WHAT THIS ORGANIZATION IS AND WHAT’S YOUR INVOLVEMENT?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: “WINDOWS OF HIPHOP!” IS A NON-PROFIT GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION THAT MELLE MEL AND I BECAME A PART OF ABOUT 6 YEARS AGO. WE WERE APPROACHED BY A YOUNG LADY BY THE NAME OF MELISSA LIBRAND. MELISSA HAD BIG DREAMS AND BIG ASPIRATIONS ABOUT THINGS SHE WANTED TO DO RELATED TO HIP-HOP AND RELATED TO OUR YOUTH. SHE FIGURED SHE COULD HELP INFUSE THE 2 ENERGIES TOGETHER AND WE’VE BEEN ON THAT PATH FOR OVER 6 YEARS NOW. WE’VE PARTNERED UP WITH BULOVA AND FOR CS 55 WE’RE BUILDING A STUDIO INSIDE AND PRINCIPLE LUIS TORRES, WHO’S DONE GREAT THINGS FOR NOT ONLY OUR SCHOOLS BUT FOR OUR KIDS. I MEAN, HE IS A GODSEND. IT WAS JUST A NO BRAINER AS FAR AS TRYING TO PARTNER UP AND DO THINGS. ANYTHING THAT'S ALONG THAT IDEALISM OF HELPING THE KIDS AND USING WHATEVER WE HAVE, BE IT OUR NOTORIETY, OUR INTERACTION WITH THEM… BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY GO INTO THE SCHOOLS WITH THEM AND TALK WITH THEM AND INTERACT WITH THEM. THATS WHAT ITS ABOUT.
VALIDATED: HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF HIP-HOP HISTORY?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: IT’S OF ULTIMATE IMPORTANCE BECAUSE THE REASON WHY OUR PEOPLE AS A PEOPLE AND AS A RACE AREN’T WHOLE AND AREN’T TOTAL BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW OUR HISTORY. WE’VE BEEN ROBBED OF OUR HISTORY AND OUR ROOTS AND OUR ANCESTRY, SO WE CAN’T TRACE OURSELVES BACK TO ANYTHING TO SAY WHO WE ARE OR WHAT WE COME FROM. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? HIP-HOP IS ONLY 46 YEARS OLD, YOU CAN’T HIDE THIS UNDER NO ROCK WHILE WE’RE HERE. SO I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE PASS ON OUR CULTURE AND LET THEM KNOW THIS IS OURS, WE CAME UP WITH THIS. BECAUSE 100’S OF YEARS FROM NOW THIS IS GOING TO BE IN HISTORY BOOKS AND MOVIES MADE ABOUT IT AND ALL KIND OF THINGS. THIS IS YOURS BUT THEY WON’T KNOW THAT IT’S OURS OR THAT IT CAME FROM US UNLESS WE LET THEM KNOW NOW AND WE INSTILL THAT IN THEM ABOUT OUR HISTORY.
VALIDATED: YOU MENTION THE ELEMENTS OF HIP-HOP AS PART OF YOUR LESSON, WHAT ARE THEY AND IS ONE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHERS?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: THE ELEMENTS OF HIP-HOP IS THE ART ELEMENT WHICH IS GRAFFITI OR STREET ART. OF COURSE BREAKING, B-BOYING OR THE BREAK DANCING. THE SPOKEN WORD ELEMENT, OF COURSE EMCEEING OR WHAT PEOPLE NOW CALL RAP AND TURNTABLISM, THE DJ ASPECT. THOSE ARE THE FOUR FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP OUR CULTURE. AS FAR AS THE CULTURE ITSELF IS CONCERNED, WHILE WE CALL IT HIP-HOP, ALL THESE THINGS TOGETHER ARE HIP-HOP. THEM SEPARATED, THEY ARE A PART OF HIP-HOP AND YOU CAN CELEBRATE THEM INDIVIUALLY BUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CULTURE, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THESE THINGS ARE YOU HAVE TO PUT THEM ALL TOGETHER IN ONE CONTEXT. YOU CAN’T SAY SOMETHING IS HIP-HOP AND NOT INCLUDE ART, YOU CAN’T SAY SOMETHING IS HIP-HOP AND THERE'S NO B-BOY, THERE'S NO DJ. WHERE'S THE SCRATCHING? EVERYTHING THAT THE WORD HIP-HOP MEANS, WHERE IS THAT? SO WHEN YOU CALL SOMETHING HIP-HOP, THAT THING HAS TO REFLECT ALL 4 OF THOSE ELEMENTS. IN THE CULTURE OF HIP-HOP NO 1 ELEMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER. EVEN THOUGH RAP BECAME AN INDUSTRY UNTO ITSELF BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY ELEMENT THAT YOU CAN MARKET VASTLY AND SELL TO THE MASSES.
VALIDATED: DO YOU THINK THAT RAP OR HIP-HOP SHOULD HAVE DIFFERENT GENRES?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: I THINK SO BECAUSE THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS OF RAPPERS NOW. BEFORE IT WAS ONE KIND OF WAY THAT WE DID THIS AND NOW WHEN THE FLOOD GATES OPENED UP YOU HAVE ALL DIFFERENT KIND OF RAPPERS. THE PART OF RAP, THAT THING CALLED “THE GOLDEN ERA”, 85’ TO 90’, YOU HAD SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF HIP-HOP TO ENJOY. THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE GOLDEN ERA. YOU HAD THE CONSCIOUS RAP, YOU HAD KRS-1, THE POOR RIGHTEOUS TEACHERS, YOU HAD THE TEACHERS IN HIP-HOP. YOU HAD ENTERTAINERS IN HIP-HOP, KID N PLAY, KWAME... THESE ARE GUYS THAT ARE FUN. YOU GOT BIZ MARKIE, GUYS LIKE THAT. THEN YOU GOT THE LYRICAL SIDE, YOU GOT RAKIM, BIG DADDY KANE. YOU GOT FEMALES, SALT N PEPPA, (MC) LYTE, (QUEEN) LATIFAH. ALL THOSE DIFFERENT KINDS OF HIP-HOP THAT ARE KIND OF CATEGORIES UNTO THEMSELVES IF YOU WANT TO BREAK THEM UP THAT WAY. US UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF HIP-HOP JUST CALL IT ALL HIP-HOP.
VALIDATED: WHAT’S MISSING IN TODAY’S GENERATION PERTAINING TO HIP-HOP, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT’S DEFINITELY SOMETHING MISSING?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: I THINK IT'S A DISCONNECT BETWEEN THIS GENERATION AND THE GENERATIONS OF PAST. EACH GENERATION LEADING UP TO THIS ONE ALMOST PIGGYBACKED OFF THE LAST ONE. WE LEARNED FROM WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE US, THEY LEARNED FROM WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THEM, THEY LEARNED FROM WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THEM AND THEN CRACK CAME OUT. CRACK PUT A BIG VOID IN OUR HISTORY, IN OUR CULTURE, IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND IN OUR GENERATION. WE HAVE A GENERATION THAT HAS A GAP BETWEEN IT, SO THIS GENERATION ON THIS SIDE OF THE GAP DIDN’T HAVE A GENERATION TO LEARN FROM. THEY SKIPPED THE LESSONS THAT WERE PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. BOOM, WE HAVE 1 GENERATION THAT’S JUST OUT IN THE STREET AND SO NOW WHERE'S THE NEXT GENERATION? OH WE GOT TO JUST INTERPRET THIS FOR OURSELVES AND THAT'S WHAT YOU GOT TODAY. YOU’VE GOT A GENERATION OF KIDS WHO JUST PICKED IT UP AND SAID, “WELL THIS IS WHAT WE THINK IT IS.” YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE DISCONNECT CAME IN.
VALIDATED: YOU ARE CLEARLY AN ICON AND LEGEND, WITH ALL YOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO WOULD LOVE TO FOLLOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: IF YOU KNEW ALL THE STEPS MY FEET HAVE TAKEN YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO FOLLOW. I MEAN EVERYBODY’S JOURNEY IS DIFFERENT BUT IF YOU DECIDE TO TAKE THIS ONE I SUGGEST YOU HAVE A CLEAR AND PRESENT PASSION FOR THIS CULTURE. YOU GOTTA LOVE WHAT YOU DO WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA GET PAID FROM IT OR NOT, AND THAT'S THE FIRST STEP. NONE OF US, THIS WASN’T A BUSINESS WHEN WE STARTED DOING IT. IT WAS A RELEASE, YOU KNOW, A WAY TO GET ENERGY OUT, SELF EXPRESSION. MODES OF SELF EXPRESSION WHEN ALL THE MUSIC WAS TAKEN OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS IN THE EARLY 70’S AND ALL THE PROGRAMS WERE CUT AND ALL THAT. I WAS LIKE, ”WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW? WHERE WE GOING TO GET OUR MUSIC FROM NOW? WHAT PLAYS MUSIC IN HERE? OH, THIS TURNTABLE. OKAY, BET!” AND THERE YOU GO, HIP-HOP. SO I MEAN ANYBODY PURSUING IT IF YOU LOVE IT AND YOU HAVE A REAL PASSION FOR IT, IT WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. THAT PASSION WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU AND LEAD YOU THROUGH IT.
VALIDATED: SO WHAT DO YOU HAVE COMING UP NEXT?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: A LOT OF MEETING AND SHOWS. I’M ON THE ROAD WITH KOOL MOE DEE. I STAY ON THE ROAD MESSING WITH HIM BESIDES THE THINGS THAT I DO MYSELF. THE “CROTONA PARK JAMS” ARE ABOUT TO START. I’VE BEEN HOSTING THOSE FOR 17 YEARS FOR “TOOLS OF WAR” BUT THIS YEAR THE TOOLS OF WAR GRASSROOTS HIP-HOP ORGANIZATION ARE TAKING A BREAK. SO I ALONG WITH THE FRIENDS OF CROTONA PARK ARE GOING TO KEEP IT GOING. YEAH, WE CAN’T STOP THE JAMS AT CROTONA, SO JULY 11TH, 18TH, 25TH AND AUGUST 8TH FROM 4PM TO 9PM WE’LL BE AT CROTONA PARK. I GOT DJ’S, DAVY DMX, DJ SCRATCH, CASH MONEY, GRAND WIZZARD THEODORE, DJ MELL STARR. I GOT PEOPLE COMING, BIZ MARKIE, MIX MASTER ICE FROM UTFO. I MEAN, I GOT CLASSIC, BONAFIDE HIP-HOP DJ LEGENDS COMING OUT THERE THIS SUMMER... AND I’M THE HOST FOREVER!
VALIDATED: WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU?
GRANDMASTER CAZ: WWW.GRANDMASTERCAZ.COM, THATS THE WEBSITE, CHECK IT OUT. I’M ON IG, @THEREALGRANDMASTERCAZ, CAZ BROWN ON FACEBOOK, EMAIL, GRANDMASTERCAZ07@GMAIL.COM.