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People's Party with Talib Kweli

Smoke DZA on His Unparalleled Mixtape Run, the Origins of His Polo-Rugby Style, Battle Rapping in Harlem, and the Formation of the Smoker’s Club

People's Party with Talib Kweli

UPROXX

Music

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2023

⏱️ 4 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Legendary rapper Smoke DZA joins Talib Kweli at The Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City for a deep conversation about the arc of his multi-faceted career. The duo dive into the intricacies of Harlem battle rap, the origins of the Smoker’s Club, and more. “If you don’t know where you come from, you don’t know where you’re going,” Smoke DZA says. He talks about linking up with Mac Miller, and making Full Court Press with Girl Talk, Wiz Khalifa, and Big K.R.I.T., and then shares insights into his incredible run of mixtapes. Plus: why he made the Polo-Rugby style his signature look. For fans of New York rap and hip-hop in general, this is a must-listen.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Peace and love party people. This is Talib Kuala Lee to BKMC, the MCEO. You are about to hear an excerpt of People's Party hosted by me and my lovely and talented co-host Ms. Jasmine Lee. What up Jasmine?

0:10.3

What up peeps to hear our entire combo and all of our episodes with stars from the game to Lil Kim, to Anthony Anderson, to my sister Tiffany Haddish, subscribe to the Luminary Channel on Apple Podcasts.

0:21.4

My first time working with Kendrick, a great story. So the record that ended up being unfolded to the world was a way different record at the beginning because the record started off with me Kendrick, Cretton, Dopp, Sean C. and LV produced the joint.

0:44.4

Good dudes, good dudes, legendary hitman and something happened with the beat. So we couldn't use the beat for some reason. And I don't know what happened. Why Cretton, Dom, why we didn't use those verses, but it just ended up just being me and that on the song.

1:06.7

And the verse, the name of the song is How Far We Go. Randomly, I might go on Twitter and search my name and that song might come up and some people say that's one of Kendrick's best verses.

1:21.7

It's a dope verse.

1:23.7

Right. My people kept telling me to redo my verse.

1:27.7

Right. And I was telling them niggas fuck y'all niggas man. Not redoing nothing. Try niggas talk them out. And then I heard his shit right.

1:37.7

And then I heard shit. And I said, I ain't man. I see what y'all talking about. I'm a redo it a little bit right. And that's what's still.

1:50.7

And I regret not going for his fucking juggerla right because that verse, the snigger ran so crazy on that song that I don't even think some people remember I was on the song.

2:04.7

Right.

2:06.7

And I love that song.

2:09.7

It's my song.

2:11.7

I love that we did it again.

2:14.7

I had to give my get back. Right. But shout out to dives. I always wanted to tell that story because a lot of niggas don't say when they get guy.

2:22.7

I got a song called push through my ex wife used to have a radio show with Debbie dev and DJQ left the facts. And they had you and I as guests and they brought Kate I error Kendrick.

2:34.7

And that's how I met him. I heard him rapping before section. You know, I'm smoking a joint outside of it because the show was in my garage. I hear this voice rapping in my garage.

2:44.7

So I never heard before I went in. I'm like, they had this record out bitch. I do this. That record out. So I was like, yeah, who the fuck is that? They're like, oh, that's Kendrick.

2:52.7

I'm like, come on. Exchange numbers. He hit me when he came to New York. We did a record push through me him in currency shout to currency.

3:07.7

He said, his verse like he said he ran off with it. Now he's the I don't know where he's about to become. So everybody verse 16. I'm like, he got a 32 bar verse. I cut his shit down to 16. I said in the shit. He was like, no, that's not how it go.

3:24.7

That's by that because I'm like, he stood his ground, even though he's the new kid. And I touched up my verse too. But that's the same shit that same energy. Like he was coming to that situation. Like, I'm going to outwrap these niggas, even if I have to have more bars.

3:39.7

And that whole King Kendrick energy.

...

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