[Interview] Sheek Louch - The Silverback Gorilla [Yoraps.com Interview]

Sheek Louch - The Silverback Gorilla
Published: Thursday - February 28, 2008 | Comments (0)


Sheek Louch is one of the most underrated MC's in the game though he's part of one of hip-hop's greatest groups The Lox. When Sheek Louch, Styles P, and Jadakiss came into the game for those that followed we all remember them being part of the Bad Boy movement. When it came to that gutter street music The Lox was the young hungry cats giving it there all. Just think back to the time when they dropped the street flamer "Money, Power, & Respect" with Lil Kim and that ill production that blew speakers. Once the Bad Boy thing was done The Lox really stuck to their roots and released the classic album (especially in the hood) "We Are The Streets". On that album you got some classics that will never be forgotten like "Ya'll Fucked Up Now", "Ryde Or Die, Bitch", "Wild Out", "Fuck You", damn it's too many to name I just fuck with these dudes too much [laughs]. As time went on another Lox album has yet to be released, but the dynamic trio still managed to keep their fans through credible solo projects.

Jadakiss went on to drop two albums you loved with "Kiss Tha Game Goodbye" and "Kiss Of Death". Styles P came hard as usual with his solo debut with "A Gangster And A Gentleman" then he gave two more with "Time Is Money", and the newly released "Super Gangster, Extraordinary Gentleman". Sheek Louch always continued to drop giving you two albums when he first dropped "Walk Witt Me" on Universal then his first Koch release "After Taxes". "Silverback Gorilla" is Sheek Louch's new project and since it's wild out here he has to get the gorilla off his chest. Happy to be coming back out Sheek explains to Yo Raps! how you can learn from your mistakes and has some advice for you up-coming artists that want to get in the music industry (the importance of publishing, the flaws of big major label budgets, the benefit of being with Koch). Still hungry giving it to you raw and uncut though he's spitting that "Good Love" taking it back to Betty Wright's "Tonight Is The Night" Sheek still has the heat for the street and the "Silverback Gorilla" is where it all begins.

First you gave us "Walk Witt Me", then you gave us "After Taxes", and now you're about to out with the "Silverback Gorilla", so how it feels to come out for the third time?

It feels great for the fans to want you, still be relevant, and still make good music. It feels great all around the board with myself and my homey's. It feels great for "Silverback Gorilla", because like I said I call it that because it's a concrete jungle out there and I'm one of the fiercest motherfuckers in that shit.

So before you gave it the title "Silverback Gorilla", how many times did you come up with a name?

I don't know [laughs], I used to say that in all my raps like "This is the Silverback Gorilla". I used to call myself the gorilla and all that so it just stuck. That's how I wanted the album cover to look, I need the city to look like the jungle took over the city, the Empire State, all that, and I just want you being there.

Sheek Louch you have a good single out right now called "Good Love" and it was crazy because everybody know you spit hard for the streets so how did you come up with the idea?

My man Red Spyda came to me with this track and I was like "Yo" and I just felt like that joint anybody can relate to. Your pops, your uncle that's that Betty Wright right there and them young boys I'm a introduced them to that music right there. They used to electric slide to that thing right there man [laughs]. When I heard that "I like that baby just can't keep still" I had to let that breathe right there. I'm not giving you too much either, but I'm saying what I'm saying.

Cool, I was feeling the old school sample!

Yeah exactly, because I feel as though I have nothing else to prove when I talk that drug shit, that gun shit you know what I mean. I just tried to switch it up and people loving that song right now. It's not hardcore or none of that it's just good music right now.

Oh so I see Sheek Louch was giving the old soul into it?

Exactly, I got all that other shit on the album, that murderous shit that's coming right after.

So let me ask you this are you looking for that "Good Love" right now?

Nah I'm looking for that good money right now [laughs], that good money. Good love I got a wife right now kids and all that shit, but yeah I'm looking for that good money right now.

All your albums came out on Koch and it seems like they been doing pretty good so how it feels as far as the relationship you got going with them?

I love it, Koch is dope man. Koch grinds, Koch believes in your work, and Koch knows the music. They will let you know what's happening out there. You go to these other labels your not meeting the head of the label, your not meeting with Jimmy Iovine who will sit down with The Lox an established group. On the money side if you go to the majors and I'm not against no major at all I'm just saying as far as myself. The majors is giving 15 cent off each record, over here depending on your deal you can get 7 or 8 dollars off each record. A lot of artists think "If I go to a major they gonna put all this money behind me I'm a sell a lot of records" so to speak. That's what the young boy is saying in his head. You look at right now and the way the sells are going now these people got hit records on the radio, the label put a million dollars into them, and they come out doing 30,000 the first week". I don't get it, they say Koch is graveyard this and that, but what you call these people that come out on a major label and do way less numbers then what we doing over here? It don't add up, but you know what's happening now? Now you in debt for them boys over there for 2 million that you didn't even see!

You right and from what I heard Koch is the place to go right now!

It definitely is the placed to go, all day it's the place to go, Koch goes hard!

Now speaking in you knowing your business and being a veteran in the industry can you talk about how important it is for young dudes coming up as artists to know their business?

Yeah I think it's very important and you can take advice from me. We got with Diddy and we got with the dream team at the time B.I.G., Craig Mack, everybody and made hit records, but our paperwork wasn't all the way tight. As far as being covered publishing wise, getting the certain amount of money that we was supposed to see and we wrote "Benjamins", we wrote "Victory" for Puff, you name these songs that we wrote. Us not having our shit together use us for an example. We just recently got our publishing back from Puffy, everybody know how much radio shit it took, going to war all that. When I tell people they be like "What would you tell a new artists" and I tell people "Invest in some equipment man". I can sit there and tell you to read all day that's all good, but invest in your self. Get yourself a keyboard, get yourself your own studio so when you get that budget you can record in your own studio so you don't gotta run down to the Sony's and book a session or wait for the label to give you money so you can start recording the album. You want to start recoding early so you can warm your self up so when you get to the label you can be that much hotter. You know I've been around.

So speaking on the publishing and everything would you tell most upcoming artists that's where the most money come at?

Publishing is for life, publishing is straight for life. That's why you see us all now you see that passion in Styles voice. When he was like "I'm a throw stuff off the roof" and all that it was more like enough is an enough. Were not just getting at Puff, because he didn't have to give us our publishing back and that's something we signed as grown men. Young men at the time, but we still was supposed to know what we were doing. Publishing is for life, those checks come when you 50, 60 years old and so on.

Your man Styles P just dropped his album on Koch, you already been on Koch, did you have any influence in bringing Styles P to the label after he left Interscope?

I have, but I think Styles decision was his. He was with Interscope, he was more like man he can't drop whenever he wanted. Styles had situations where like come on he dropped "Locked Up" with Akon which blew Akon up he should've dropped a record right after that if he wanted. They (Interscope) didn't, they stalled due to whatever situations over there. Alright cool he got on another song with Mariah Carey which was one of the biggest joints through the whole summer and he could've dropped again after that. Any label supposed to see that and run with that see what I'm saying, but they didn't. I think he was just like "Yo man I gotta drop this album, give them whatever they want, and I gotta get out of here so I can maneuver and do things the right way with these new people over here at Koch that does it the right way". Everybody is tryna come over here right now.

A lot of groups come in the industry and break-up, but you, Kiss, and Styles ya'll stayed together. What you think it was that keep ya'll around so long?

You know what it is? These groups get here and they are put together, we were not put together, we are from the same hood and high school. My mom hangs with his mom and everybody is tight like that. We own the same studio together, we own businesses together we own our own carwash and so on. I can get Kiss on the phone right now I'm not gonna call his manager or Kiss call me like "Yo what's poppin" like that for the good and bad times. That's how we keep it and when we leave here I'm a see them in the studio.

Why do you think the streets respect The Lox so much?

Because we put in so much work man, we can sit here and chop stories up all day. I think B.I.G. has a lot to do with that too, we hold our own but they like "These boys was under B.I.G. back then rapping on his records holding our own". You know what it is with us when you meet Sheek when I'm out in the hood or if I'm at a Black attire I'm the same guy you gonna meet. How I’m speaking now I'm a be the same guy you spoke to so that's what it is man.

Yeah it's crazy because I talked to your man Styles P about a month ago and he was cool as hell.

Yeah, like you said I did your first interview back then right?

Right!

I'm the same guy you speaking to right now, ain't nothing changed about me man.

Now doubt, now ya'll all dropped solo albums, but when are we going to get another Lox album because we missing it?

I know that's long overdue and I'm so sorry for all that man. I'm sorry for not putting this Lox album out we been tearing shit up. We just did B.B. Kings recently up here in New York and it was just ridiculous they was saying it was the best show of 08. I don't know man we've been recording and I'm hoping either back to school or something like that. We still at Interscope right now (note as a group) so we gonna push that button soon. We tryna get a D-Block/Lox tour with all the House of Blue's and all kinds of shit like that with those kinds of venues.

I'm talking to my homey's telling them I'm talking to Sheek Louch today they like "Man ask him when they coming out with another Lox album"!

Yeah tell them asap man it's called "Live, Suffer & Celebrate". We got a lot of songs done we keep recording we going in strong.

Alright cool, Now let's talk back about this "Silverback Gorilla" is this your best album to date?

Yeah, definitely because that's where I'm at right now in my life. If you asked me that about "After Taxes" at the time I say "Yeah this is my best album". I think this definitely as far as growth, lyrically, production, everything. Not saying the other ones wasn't hot, but I'm still proving myself. Right now in my life I ain't the 3rd dude from The Lox I'm Sheek Louch point blank. It ain't no "Yo Sheek you got nice", nah right now I'm nice, I'm sick with it. I'm standing on my own rocking it and everybody loving it. I'm in the best shape of my life.

What's the relationship like working with Red Spyda?

Spyda is dope look at how he came with that Betty Wright joint. He was like "Yo you gotta nail it this way" and Spyda did so many songs for people. Matter fact he hit me with this other joint called "Two Turntables and a Mic". Spyda also did the joint "Kiss Ya Ass Goodbye" so he feels me and what I'm doing.

Can you speaking on the guest features, who you have?

I got this mean Dipset/D-Block record it's so crazy. It's gonna shut New York down, it's gonna shut every where down, Jim Jones and Hell Rell is on there. I got my boy Styles P and Jada on there of course. I got Bun B on the album, I got my man Game, Fat Joe.

How you think hip-hop will remember The Lox?

Definitely one of the best groups of our time, of our century, The Lox is definitely the best group of our century. Along with the EPMD's, The Public Enemy's, The Mobb Deep's and all that. Classic groups and classic solo artists as well.

I feel you on that, Sheek Louch appreciate the love, I definitely look forward to "Silverback Gorilla"!

Go get that man, I appreciate it, and good questions too.

- By Quinton Hatfield