[Interview] Sheek Louch - Gorilla Warfare [Interview with MP3.com]

Sheek Louch: Gorilla Warfare
By Brolin Winning

Conducted February 20, 2008, 09:00 PM

Repping for The Lox, D-Block, and NYC, Sheek discusses his new album Silverback Gorilla.
A founding member of The Lox, Sheek Louch has been making music for both the streets and the charts for over a decade. Preparing to drop his third solo album, he speaks with us about proving himself to the masses, dealing with an ever-changing business climate, the mixtape grind, and where hip-hop is at in 2008.

MP3: What's up Sheek? Sheek Louch: Hey, how's it going, friend?

Not too bad. So let's talk about the new album, man, Silverback Gorilla. What do you got for us? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Silverback Gorilla, my third effort, my third masterpiece, you know what I mean. You heard Walk Witt Me, which was like, at the time, [people] was like, "Okay, let me see what this dude got. I know he's the third dude in The Lox. He's pretty much been quiet. All right, let me see." Then it was like, "All right, yeah, we feeling this." I got a lot of love from that joint. Boom, I had the joint on there with the "Everywhere we"—that D-Block, D-Block, that joint.

Yep, totally. And then after that, somebody was like, "Yo, when is your next thing out?" So I started working on After Taxes. Boom. And there was a lot going on around that album too. You know, we were so-called beefing with whoever and it was crazy. And I came with that "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye." And at the same time I'm like, yo, fam, I'm still proving my—even though people saying you hot, whatever, I'm still, like, trying to prove myself. Like, I ain't the diss dude, I'm Sheek Louch, boom.

Now this album here it's like there ain't no more like, "S***, you getting nice. Sheek Louch is hot." Now they're saying, "You're a monster. You're crazy with it." And that's the swagger that I have on this album, you know what I'm saying. I call it Silverback Gorilla, this is the metaphor. Now, I ain't talking about no, we ain't no monkeys or none of that s***. I'm just saying as far as, like, they say it's a concrete jungle out there and if it is a jungle, I'm one of them—you know what I'm saying, I feel I'm one of the fiercest motherf***ers in it.

And I mean that, like, you look at the big gorilla and I'm looking at the Nature Channel and all that, he's over there, the silverback gorilla. He's over there. He ain't running around hiding and all that. He's got his kids around him. He got his family there. You f*** with him and it's real, they make it real for you. But they hold their own, you know what I mean.

That's what's up. And that's how I feel with that. And the production is ridiculous, from Buckwild to Red Spyda to my man Dame Grease to Divine, Vinny Idol, a bunch of people. And I got my man Styles P and Jadakiss on the album of course. I've got Dipset on the album, Jim Jones and Hell Rell. I've got my man Bun B on the album. I've got Game. I've got DJ Unk from ATL, you know what I'm saying. I've got my man Big Bully. He's one of our artists you're going to hear a lot from, and myself, man, you know what I mean. It's straight crazy.

Right on. And are you going to be doing a solo tour once the album drops? Yeah, truthfully true. I'm going to definitely hit the road. I'm going to definitely hit the road and start pushing that album everywhere. But since we did a show recently in B.B. King's in New York and, I mean, everybody gave it great reviews, like, they said it was the best show of '07 or '08, whenever it was. And so everybody's been pushing for this Lox tour. They trying to get that started as we speak as far as, like, we're going to be in arenas like that, B.B. King's, House of Blues, all across everywhere. So we looking at—I'm going to get the word back on that, like, this month I think. But myself, as far as myself, definitely I'm going to be there doing my new album.

Cool. And now in terms of the new Lox stuff, are you guys actively writing and recording new songs yet? Yes, sir. Like, if I get you in the studio, play you any of these 20-something songs, you'll lose your mind. Like, this needs to be out right now in hip-hop, point blank. But we—it was—all right, let me give a rundown. Like, when [Jada]Kiss went over the Def Jam he had to make a move. His last album has been like three years and change or something. I'm not sure. Which was a great move because it gets him over there into another building and he could bring s*** to us, you know what I mean.

Anyway, Jay-Z was trying extra hard to get The Lox over there as well. But Jimmy Iovine at the time was like, "No, man. This Lox album has to come out over here in this house," you know what I mean, so that's what happened there. And we got the go-ahead that he wants that album out over here but at the time, even if you take it even farther back, not beefing, but when 50 and all that was going on, he was talking about I could push Styles album back and this and that. He was like, "Man, maybe you can, maybe you can't. I'm not sure," you know what I'm saying. I don't got no problem with him or none of that. That's done and over with.

But at the time, we was like, "These people, we ain't givin them a Lox album in so long to have one man tamper with it, push it back and stop songs, come on now. That ain't right. The people want this album," you know what I mean. So we was like, "You know what, we'd rather not. We'd rather not at the time. Let's get a different home." And the home didn't work so we got to be right there, so we'll see.

I know you guys are real heavy on the mixtape grind too. Yes, sir.

The Howling is out now. Do you have any other mixtape stuff you're working on or are you just sort of always doing stuff? No, I'm always grinding, you know what I'm saying. After The Howling, I went back to work dropping different stuff, you know what I'm saying. And they loved The Howling. I'm getting a lot of great reviews on that. But after Silverback Gorilla, of course Kiss is coming, you know, and The Lox whenever that comes. But we're putting out a compilation album called No Security, and that's going to consist of all our new artists, along with ourselves, but a lot of our new artists and we're going to showcase them with some banging songs and singles and all that. So whoever the people are screaming on after with that comp, they coming out with their album immediately. So we're moving in that direction, you know what I mean.

Sure, keep expanding. Yeah, you have to because that's something we never really did. We never, like, at the same time, we always been learning the business from back with Puff on up until now dealing with artists and solo artists. So you know what I'm saying, and we always got caught up, like, pushing my solo album out or Styles's or Kiss's or together as a group. It was just where we really didn't have to put people out. But now, we just, I think that's the whole mission of '08.

It's kind of crazy. I mean, it's '08 now. It's been 10 years, a full decade since the first Lox album dropped. Yeah.

Did you, when you were first getting into the game and first doing demos and all that, did you ever think that you would still be going this hard and this successfully 10 years down the line or does that still surprise you? I think there was a bunch of up and downs, man. It was like, like you said, 10 years. So, with that, comes history. Like, at the time when we got in the game it was like, man, we joined the Chicago Bulls when Jordan and them was there. You know what I mean? We got B.I.G., we got Biggie there, we got Craig Mack, Total, Puff, you name it, Ma$e, the newcomer, you know what I'm saying. And we put this dude on one of our songs called "Niggaz Done Started Something" off Money, Power, Respect and he blew up to become DMX and so on, you know what I mean.

So like, at the time, we running around, "Wow, we on Big's album and we about to drop our project all that." When Big died, it felt like, man, everything's about to stop. Like, "Dang, just when we got on," you know what I mean. That was a time when I didn't know if everything was going to keep going. You dig? And then God willing, I would say, and hard work these two dudes that was managing us named Dee and Wah came and started their own label called Ruff Ryders, you know what I mean. And us not even knowing, we're setting up one of their artists already putting them on mad songs.

And then it popped off, so there was ups and downs with it to where we felt like, man…But then the only thing that I can say, not to keep you here so long, one thing, the product that we put out never felt like it was going to be over because people was just loving certain songs like, "Oh, my God, did you hear them '24 Hours to Live'? Did you hear 'The Benjamins'?" You know what I mean.

Totally. That kept us, like, "Wow, these dudes, they're a force to be reckoned with.

You guys definitely had the anthems for sure. Yeah.

Now obviously a lot has changed in the last 10 years in hip-hop just overall, but… Hell, yes.

…in terms of the music that's coming out and a lot of these younger artists, but also in terms of the business of it and the whole downloads, with the labels and tripping and downsizing. Do you feel like things are in a better place, for yourself specifically? You know, you've done the major label stuff but the solo records you're doing indie. Do you feel like in '08 you're in a better place than you were? I think I'm in a great space, you know what I'm saying, as far as me being able to do me, and with Koch as well, like, that's a label that, they study your work, they want you to win, they know what's popping for the most part, they go out there and grind and get on the streets with you, not just sending Joe Schmo out there that really don't know s***. They don't got a rep on the road with you that don't know what the f*** is going on, he's barely heard the music. You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah. Some jackass is going to bed at 8:00 at night when the rest of you all are going to parties, nothing like that. No, they've got real people with you out there as well as yourself. So it ain't just you putting it all in their hands. You've got to get out there yourself and grind because it is an indie and you've got to work just like them because you all want to win, and you see money off it as well, you know what I mean.

As far as the state of hip-hop, I think—I always say it's in a great space because regardless—it still gives us as young black men and women a chance to travel and see the world, to go to Switzerland and London and Germany and places that they would have never, ever been working at General Motors or any of these construction places or anything, doorman or supermarkets, they would have never got there. And as well as to make money and bring your homeboys and your friends with you, you know what I mean. So it's, I mean, come on now, anything that's getting you and helping you come up as long as you deal with it and do it right and hold your head and don't lose yourself, you're good. I think it's a good thing.

Now as far as musically, I don't like everything that's coming out. I'm not going to pinpoint everybody and all that but the state of it is just like, as far as like—but you hear what I'm saying right, one is the business side, what I just said where it helps you get that money and grow and do s*** and pay your mortgage and certain bills. The other side is, like, these guys, these kids right now they don't care. They're just putting out anything and they want one ringtone.

Yeah, totally. That's all it takes. All they care is for one ringtone. But also the label is coaching them into, "Where is our ringtone record? Where is our ringtone record?" to where they don't even give a f*** about the rest of the album. They don't even care if the rest of the songs is trash. They've got that one ringtone and they got a dance with the song and that's it, you know what I mean.

All set. That's it and they set, one dance and one routine and the ringtone and they feel like they're on top of the world until you hear the rest of their s*** and the reviewers is like, "Wow, what the f*** is this? This is the worst s*** I ever heard," you know what I mean. So that's—the state of that is, like, they need to get a grip and there's not a lot of lyricists anymore or anybody that's got pride in their whole project.

Definitely. I hear you, man. So what else do you want to say just to the fans out there, the people that's been waiting on a new Sheek record, been waiting on a new Lox record? Yeah, yeah. Yo, it's coming. It's right here, it's Silverback Gorilla. I'm looking at late March, early April. I don't have a definite date, but late March, early April. And it's fire, man, and it's coming. If you thought After Taxes was off the hook, this new one, Silverback Gorilla is crazy. Concepts, the production, the people on it, all my homies that's on it, just the growth lyrically and me playing with it, it's sick, it's sickening. You're going to love it. You're going to put it in and let it rock all the way through, I promise.

Excellent. Well I look forward to hearing it and thanks for taking the time to talk to me, man. I appreciate it. Yo, good look. Hold me down over there.

Absolutely, Sheek. Take it easy, man. All right.