Bill Cosby - "Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on."

I'm obviously not doing the right advertising!

DJ Nato and Touch bless your eyeballs with this AMAZING video. Word up, 'Adult's Story', one of the best videos of the year, straight up. Enjoy:



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Jiggamayne slyly speaks to MTV about his life, Biggie, Nas, Rick Rubin, and his processes. You can almost see the animosity in his eyes about revealing too much of his inner self to this poindexter, LOL!

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

On Writing ALL THE TIME:

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Peep the other two links here: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1574975&vid=191800

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Nas. N!gger. Black Dick. WORD! Read. Now:

If you thought Nas was being controversial with an album titled Nigger, wait until you hear some of the song titles he has for the project. The MC reached out to MTV News earlier this week to reveal a bit more about the work-in-progress.

"I have a song called 'The Fear,' " he said. "The full title of the record is 'The Fear of the Black Man's D---.' That's some sh-- you can get comedy [from], or you can get some seriousness from it when you talk about the barbaric castrations that happened in our past — which is very serious, nothing to laugh at."

Nas also said that despite the serious name of his project — which has already set off a firestorm of controversy — the LP will be balanced, and he emphasized that he is not singling out any one race.

"It's not an attack on white people at all," he promised, regarding the record's content. "It's knowledge; it's understanding for all people. It's not an attack on any race."

Nas clarified that he will be combating a myriad of racial slurs, not just the one after which he named his album.

"It's about the attacks that have happened to blacks, whites, all ethnicities," he continued. " 'Mick' niggers, 'guinea' niggers, 'kike' niggers. I have a song called 'You a Nigger Too.' "

"It's all over the place," he added. "Balance is so important because there's a fun level to the [album] too. There's an attractive, sexy, aspect to it; a stylish aspect, a flashy aspect. It takes negatives and makes them good."

While Nas had originally hoped to release the album next month, rather than rush the project, he decided to take his time and rescheduled the album's drop date for February: Black History Month.

"Just to get the sh-- all the way right," Nas said of what caused the delay. "I was still working and it was a few weeks away from a release date. It was impossible, the timing was off. I was running into the holidays. I'm always coming out in December so I guess I was used to it, but I had to force myself out of that. I couldn't force the album out if it wasn't done."

The album's production is almost over, however, and Nas said Jermaine Dupri and Diddy will be helping him to close out.

"It's in the developmental stages," he said of the tracks Diddy is bringing to the table. "The potential could go anywhere. I'm writing a lot of sh-- down, and it just sounds crazy. The direction is totally right. Sometimes when you sit down and write, you don't know how it will go. But this is totally right."

Thus far, Salaam Remi, Stargate and DJ Toomp are the most notable names who have delivered beats to Nas.

"DJ Toomp is a humble cat," he said of the Atlanta producer who has earned his biggest credits working with T.I. and more recently Jay-Z. "He has talent way beyond his years. He's got every style you need: rock joints, R&B joints. I don't wanna give it all away, but he's the type of dude that can go anywhere. Toomp is my man, he's got knowledge and that's important when you're working on your umpteenth album. It means something.

"Working with this music, if you don't have no knowledge of self, I can't work with you," he continued. "You have to have some knowledge of who we are. You can't just go in there and throw on a beat like, 'Here's a hot beat.' That don't mean anything. I need a producer. All the tracks were made for this record — you can feel the passion in the beat-making. It's time to build, '08, this the movement we on."

Nas said that no one he reached out to was reluctant to work with him on this project, and said he has not been surprised by the support he's gotten from his peers, despite the controversy surrounding his choice of album names.

"They get it," he said of supporters such as Alicia Keys, Method Man, Russell Simmons, as well as Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid. "We know what time it is. This [album] is a small thing. [Making music] is what I do, so this is part of the way I fight. But people all know what we been going up against this year and the year before and the year before. I ain't saying nothing that's foreign to them."

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1575258/20071128/nas.jhtml

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Freeway, the dude with one of the best albums of the fall, speaks to a new blog:

Any rapper that had to wait four years to follow up on a critically acclaimed debut -- due to circumstances beyond control -- would have right to be angry or bitter. But Philadelphia native Freeway does not show emotion as he gears up to finally unleash Free at Last, the sophomore album that was originally slated for 2005. So, what was the hold up?

Mainly, it was the ugly breakup between Roc-A-Fella Recods co-founders Jay-Z, Dame Dash and Briggs that left the label’s artists, such as Free, having to choose sides. But, it couldn’t have worked out better. During that four-year hiatus, 50 Cent came on board to co-executive produce Free at Last with Jay-Z, and Freeway experienced a life-altering pilgrimage to Mecca in 2005 that almost prompted him to put down the mic for good. But drama makes for good music: Freeway uses his high-pitched, emotive flow to openly discuss his feelings regarding the Roc-A-Fella breakup on “This Can’t Be Real” and “It’s Over.” Free was just as open when Rhapsody caught up with him, as he touched on not working with Just Blaze this time around, his cousin’s violent death and his Muslim faith.

Rhapsody: Were there any songs you brought to 50 and Jay that they didn’t like?
Freeway: There was one joint that Jay didn’t like with Paul Wall. I think he didn’t like Cool and Dre’s beat. The hook was from the “real n****s do real things" line that Jay used of Biggie’s .” It was kind of hot. I might have to leak that joint.

What would you say is one song that you left off the album that you would still like your fans to hear though?
“Step Back” by DJ Don Cannon featuring Lil Wayne. I wanted that to make the album, but we had a deadline and we couldn’t get the samples cleared in time. But it’s out in the streets and people love it.

Given that you didn’t have Baseline Studios to record out of this time, how was the process different?
It was a little different because I was traveling a lot. I was recording everywhere. I was at Larry Gold in Philadelphia, Zack’s Studios in Atlanta. When I did Philadelphia Freeway, I was locked in Baseline for weeks straight. I had to grow up and stand on my own and do what I had to do. Just Blaze did a lot of songs on the first album, but he’s so good that he could make it sound like 10 different producers. He was responsible for the “What We Do,” “Rock the Mic” and “Burnin’ Up” -- basically my career. I would go there and he’d have joints ready. In the beginning [of “What We Do”], all I wanted Jay to say was “Keep going, Free.” And then when I brought him in the studio to do that, he was like hold up, this joint’s crazy. So we sat down for 10 minutes, started vibing, and laid his verse. Then Beans [Beanie Sigel] came in and heard it and was like, “I gotta end that off.”

Why was it so hard to get with Just Blaze for this album?
There was a little bit of hostility between managers. I think my manager was a little disrespectful to his manager around the beginning of last year. I don’t really know the particulars, but I know it had to do with some publishing. He apologized, but after that, I tried to get at Just a couple times. I’m not saying he wouldn’t, but he wasn’t in a rush or it wasn’t a priority to him. Just is my man. We lived together for a month in Miami. I felt as though we had a good relationship. I spoke to him earlier this year [about it]. We’re supposed to be past it, but still nothing’s happened.

How come you decided to mention it on “It’s Over”?
I was just keeping it real. I’m not like, “F**k Just.” It’s all good. I just want to see him and talk to him [about it].

When’s the last time you spoke to Dame?
A couple weeks ago. I called him to see if he could come [to my listening session], and he said he was gonna try but he said he had some stuff to take care of. So, he told me to come to the office to let him hear the album.

Do you get the sense that Dame is bitter about the way things ended?
I’m sure he feels some type of way. Wouldn’t you? He just doesn’t show it. When I talked to Dame, he was like, “I’m good. I’m getting this movie money.” But I’m sure he probably does feel that way. I know I would.

Given that you had words for Nas when they [he and Jay-Z] were in the midst of their battle, was it awkward at all when he came on board at Def Jam?
Me and Nas just talked. I saw him at the “Roc Boys” video [shoot]. That was the first time I saw him [since the beef]. We didn’t even get into any of that. Then I saw him again at the concert the other night. We both were fans of each other. When his first album came out, I used to try and rap like him. But I had to represent for the family no matter what it was. I was a soldier so I was rocking out. I was glad to see them get together and get over their little hump. I remember we were in Philly one day and Nas came to perform a little bit after the beef with Jay was dying down. I was actually on stage before him. He was like, “Free, I know you in the building. You my brother and I love you, but I gotta drop this ‘Ether.’” [Laughs.]That was crazy.

So you used to rhyme like Nas?
Probably the patterns I was using and just the way I was rapping. A lot of Philly rappers got caught up in that whole Queensbridge thing when Nas was poppin’.

Would you say you still borrow flows?
Of course. Everyone does it. Sometimes you can’t help but to do it. You know I be jacking Jay. That’s the way I formulated my style and rap. I always had a lot of words I wanted to say and I would try to fit ‘em all in and it didn’t work. So it would change the flow patterns ‘cause I wanted to say more words than how a normal four bar or eight bar would go. Even Jay do it. It’s part of hip-hop.

Switching to something more somber, let’s talk about your cousin Raheem passing after his encounter with the police. Did you believe the official report that alleged he pulled a gun on the police?
I know my cousin. He wouldn’t pull a gun on cops. He loved his life. He’s got a daughter. The violence in Philly right now is crazy. The cops are so trigger-happy; they’re scared themselves. There are a lot of things going on that nobody has any answers for. You can’t blame it on the music or the movies. About a year or two ago, the mayor started this thing called Operation Safe Streets. So when the cops were busting the corners, hustlers who were selling drugs on the corner were doing other things to get their money and the violence escalated.

When Beanie got locked up in 2005, Beans’ mom spoke about State Property members not supporting him. Oschino responded like you guys were never contractually signed to be a part of State Property and made it sound like more of a business arrangement than a family-type situation. Did that surprise you?
We’re grown men and go through things. Different people have different things in their heart, and I can only speak for myself. Beans is my brother. I love him till the day I die. He did a lot for me. We’re close and we’re both Muslim. It lets me know it’s just a business. I remember when I saw him when he first got out and everything was all good. He asked me about the whole 50 situation and everything. A lot of things that happened between us were due to a lack of communication. This was our first time getting famous. People on TV and knowing you everywhere you go. Eventually people build egos, but when you get everybody together and sit down, it’s okay.

Shifting to your trip to Mecca, how long were you there for?
For a month. I stayed in Medina for two weeks and I went to Mecca for two weeks. I went there with some brothers from the musjid [muslim place of worship] that I go to in Philadelphia. I did the Umrah [pilgrimage to Mecca].

Did anyone recognize you over there?
Yeah, they recognized me. They were like, “We know you! You were on TV! Tell Dame Dash ‘Salaam aleikum!’” -- not knowing he’s not Muslim. It was crazy! I had on the robes. When I went over there, I fell in with a lot of the scholars and students of Islam. The whole time I was trying to be a rapper I didn’t know it was against the religion. ‘Cause all the time you’re rapping and writing, you can be studying and the fans listening to the music could be studying. When I put the album out some of ‘em was really hard on me and told me to leave it alone. Some other brothers were a little more lenient with me saying I could ease my way out.

Who did you lean on for advice in making your decision to continue?
I talked to Beans ‘cause he’s Muslim, too. I had a meeting with Dames and Briggs when I came back because they heard I might not be rapping anymore. They really couldn’t understand. After that, we went to some fashion show and nobody said anything else about it.

In a recent XXL, you talked about how with Islam, your good deeds can outweigh your bad deeds and determine whether you go to heaven or not. If you were to pass away right now, do you feel like you’d go to heaven?
I don’t know man. I just try to be good and do as much as I can. I pray five times a day. These are things I used to not do. In the beginning, I was Muslim, but I was smoking and running around like crazy. I’ve cut a lot of stuff out and there’s still a lot of work to do. But I feel like I’m on the right path. I eventually wanna raise my family and do the right thing. But [hip-hop] is my passion. There’s a lot of people doing things they’re not supposed to do. Like a Muslim working in a supermarket and selling pork. I might take a drink here or there, but I’m trying to get that down. I used to smoke [weed] every five minutes and I clipped it. I just got up like, ‘I can’t die like this because if I’m high and not doing the right thing, I know I’m going straight to hell.'

http://blog.rhapsody.com/2007/11/exclusive-freew.html

Somebody tell him that Hell exists right here in the mind if you think about it like that.

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Holy flying fuck, Batman! J.R. Rotem is the father of Britney Spears's third baby!
I spoke to a Britney-boinker! LOL, life is beyond insane these days. WAY beyond insane. Why do I need drugs anymore? The truth and reality is fucked up enough as it is. Peep the story:

On November 14, Britney Spears confided to her friends in e-mails that she was four weeks pregnant — and that she was sure the father was J.R. Rotem, a music producer she's been seeing on and off since she separated from ex-husband Kevin Federline in 2006. When asked about the pregnancy, J.R. confirmed exclusively to In Touch that Britney is carrying his child. "It's true," he says. On November 16, she proudly e-mailed a copy of the ultrasound to her inner circle. For all her recent troubles, she seems convinced that having another baby will turn her life around — and she believes that J.R. will make a great father, even though he explicitly talked about their sex life in Blender magazine earlier this year. "Britney's not looking for another husband," an insider says. "But she does like having a man in her life."

Pick up In Touch for all of the details about Britney's baby bombshell!

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Star and Buc Wild are back. Fuck that's wack. These guys are some of the worst, most ignorant Americans ever to be given a position of power. Jesus Christ:

After a year long hiatus, controversial shock jocks Star and Bucwild have inked a deal with the Mega Media Group and announced their return to New York radio with independent Top 40 station Pulse 87.7. Launching on January 15, 2008, Star, Bucwild and their returning co-hosts, White Trash Helene and Chris the Queer, will hold down the station’s morning drive. “I am excited to return to the New York City airwaves and look forward to working with the Mega Media Group and Pulse 87,” Star said in a prepared statement. “We won’t be buying our listeners.”

In 2001, the former Hot 97 host came under fire for playing effects in the wake of singer Aaliyah’s death in plane accident. Two years later, he was fired from Hot and soon after singed a deal with competitor station Power 105.1. Despite having one of the highest rated syndicated programs in New York, he was subsequently fired and arrested in 2006 for defamatory comments made on air against rival DJ Envy’s 4-year-old daughter.
During his time away from the airwaves, the self proclaimed “Hater” says he spent his time, “on the beautiful organic farms of Pennsylvania” and is ready to wipe his slate clean. “I’m just a jerk from Jersey,” he says. “There is no rivalries, no nothing.”

www.xxlmag.com

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RZA. New Wu. BONG BONG! (peace to Steve Grabenheimer, who listened to the new Wu and said its dope even though he expected it to be "worse than 'The W' which was a fucking GREAT album to me):



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and let's end off with some Touch and Nato again. These guy's new album is fucking SLAMMIN. Oh yeah, and I'm on it, with Cadence Weapon and Wordsworth, woo hoo!

peace to www.hiphopcanada.com for recognizing the homies:

Edmonton, AB – One the most exciting new collaborations coming out of Canada’s City of Champions is the producer-emcee duo of Touch & Nato. While Edmonton is more commonly known on a National scale for the Wayne Gretsky-era Oilers and the West Edmonton Mall, the group’s debut album release, Intelligent Design, has left a countrywide mark on the college and university radio circuit. The Slick Rick and Maury Povich inspired “Adult’s Story” single [click to watch the video] has been getting love from DJs East to West and has introduced the country to 2 individuals who have already put in more than their fair share of work into the development of Edmonton’s bubbling hip-hop scene.

Nato has been producing for various artists including Edmonton’s Cadence Weapon. Cadence actually records a large chunk of his material at Nato’s Up in Arms Studio, located in North-Edmonton, and will be featuring one of Nato’s beats on his next album. Nato is also a member of the Low Budget Affiliates and contributed some stellar beats to their recently released album titled The Damage Is Done.

West-Edmonton’s Touch, a member of the Dangerous Goods Collective and pioneer in the local scene, has been holding it down since the early 90’s. His lyricism and presence on the mic can be attributed to a fundamental understanding of his craft and an onslaught of experience to build off of and grow with. He’s been involved in a ton of projects including one group that also included fellow-Edmontonian E-dot, who signed with Uncle Howie Records (New York) a few years back.

The Touch & Nato combo makes for the perfect match and is a true testament to the untapped market of growing talent in the oil-rich city which has a metropolitan population of just over a million people. Intelligent Design is 18 conceptualized tracks that keep the beats banging, courtesy of Nato, who also holds down the one’s and two’s, the rhymes detailed and intensely intricate, thanks to Touch along with key guest appearances that play into the album’s well-planned architecture.

HipHopCanada caught up with Touch & Nato some weeks back but unfortunately we had to wait on a hard drive recovery service to retrieve the transcript after some unforeseen computer issues. Hey, it happens. Luckily, Intelligent Design is still available for purchase and we highly recommend you support the movement. They’ve already let us know there will be a follow-up but let’s not give you too much info before you check out the actual interview.

Touch & Nato on www.HipHopCanada.com finally!

TOUCH & NATOHHC: Touch & Nato, welcome to the HipHopCanada community! So the winter is upon us but how did you guys spend the summer?

Nato: We had a pretty interesting summer. Our goal was to release our new album independently and I think we’ve done a pretty good job with what we’ve had to work with. We released an 11 minute long promo of all exclusive material that we composed in about 2 or 3 weeks to help promote the album. Then we put a lot of work into doing a video for Adult’s Story. The chain of events went over so well, from the promo, to the album release, to the video, to the release party, then we hit # 1 on the Canadian campus hip-hop chart and that just topped it all off.

HHC: Thinking back, what would each of you credit as your earliest influences in becoming what you are today.

Nato: I’d have to give my older brother that credit. He got me into hip-hop at a very young age and I was sitting in front of a drum machine at the age of 12, and turntables shortly after.

Touch: I would say Run D MC, Ice T, N.W.A., The Fat Boys and KRS ONE were my first experience with rap, then it went to EPMD, Juice Crew, G Rap… cats like that, I would play all day.

HHC: The Edmonton scene is progressively making heads take notice of the city's large depth of talented emcees, DJs, producers etc. What makes the Edmonton scene unique from every other city in Canada?

Touch: I think Edmonton is a very unforgiving and conservative city. It’s hard to get people out to shows. It’s tiny, so the market is almost nonexistent, and all of these factors make the beats and the rhymes bitterly honest. Most of the rappers aren’t gangsters, so you can’t fall back on the good ol’ “I sell drugs, and carry guns into clubs” dialogue that seems to be so popular. You’re forced to be creative for those reasons.

HHC: No doubt. Touch, how is Edmonton different now in comparison to when you first got in the scene in the early 90's?

Touch: There are probably 10 times as many rappers, but that’s about it. There was always good hip-hop, just not a lot of hip-hop. I’m hoping the next generation of crews will take our example and push their shit hard. I really didn’t think a lot of people would relate with my style but now I know there is a market for it.

TOUCH & NATO - EDMONTON

HHC: Nato, your North-Edmonton based Up In Arms Studio has seen many artists pass through since you opened it including Cadence Weapon, who records most of his material there. How would you say the scene has progressed in the terms of the level of talent -- the records you've engineered and the talent of artists you've produced for? What's the biggest change since you first started?

Nato: I’d say that the whole scene has stepped up as far as the business side of the industry goes. It seems that we’re taking ourselves more seriously. We’re getting heard now, a lot of us.

HHC: Touch, what's going on with the Dangerous Goods Collective? Who are the members and how did it get started? Should we expect a Dangerous Goods Collective release anytime soon?

Touch: DGC started with me and Stray, then DJ Dice. We aren’t working on anything as a group right now. Everybody has their own projects at the moment. I’ve been pretty occupied with my solo shit, and DGC was founded on being free to do your thing when you had to. That’s what kept us tight for so long. We understood that we were all solo artists and had a right to work with whomever we wanted.

HHC: That’s cool. Nato, before linking with Touch what were you up to?

Nato: I’ve been putting in work on various albums, just doing odd beats here and there and engineering for people. I released a mixtape back in 2003 that had features from 13 local rappers. That’s actually the first time Touch and I collaborated.

HHC: So how did Touch & Nato come together? Was there a relationship before music?

Nato: I’ll continue the story from the previous question. I had always known of Touch, ever since I was in high school. He’s like a legend in Edmonton. When I started doing my thing, I always wanted to test and see what kind of artists I could work with and, him being the open type, he agreed to rap on one of my beats and it turned out to be a banger; that’s the “What I Wanna Say” song that’s on our album. It’s pretty crazy how well we work together. We never knew each other before we did that song but it turned out that we have a lot of the same interests.

HHC: Let's discuss the album Intelligent Design -- definitely put together with some well thought out planning so I commend you on the name selection from that perspective. But, in your own words, describe what the album means to you and what the listener should expect in terms of concept and theme.

Nato: I’ll let Touch answer that one.

Touch: I basically called it Intelligent Design for two reasons; one, my first album was called Natural Selection. I felt this current album came about completely opposite from the first one so the title had to reflect that. The first album was the best I could do at the time; it was a bunch of material at different stages of development. A lot of the songs sounded completely different, the production was half mine ad half Won18. It was a really different album. The second reason I called this album Intelligent Design was because of its literal meaning. Nato didn’t slack on one aspect from production to mastering, so a lot of thought went into every aspect, from writing, guests, to song arrangement. So in its literal sense, Intelligent Design fit well.

HHC: Nato, did you produce the whole project? How did you guys go about figuring out which beats you wanted to use?

Nato: Yeah, I did all the production, the mixing, and the cuts. It’s funny cause Touch is the type of rapper that is willing to challenge himself and rap on a wide variety of beats. For this album, it was just a matter of doing a bunch of songs and filling in the gaps. I think most of our stronger songs were created from beats that I thought should fill particular gaps in what we had at the time.

HHC: So what's the story of your DJing background Nato? Any big competitions or plans to compete in the future?

Nato: I started back in like 96-97 when my brother was getting fed up with me sneaking into his room. I wanted to be a battle DJ back then so I would practice a couple hours a day. Eventually I figured out that I wanted to produce music so it worked out great because now I can add that whole other dimension to my production.

HHC: Tell us about the feature appearances.

Touch: It was basically people who we’ve come in contact with that we’re feeling.

HHC: The video for “Adult's Story” is incredibly dope. How did that come to be and what kind of response have you been getting from the public? Who directed the video?

Nato: That concept was my idea, I love Maury Povich probably too much. I actually got the idea from the paternity episodes where they have tested about 12 guys before and they show all the clips, it’s like, “NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT THE FATHER!” It reminded me of Slick Rick’s Children’s Story where it’s like, “KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK EM OUT THE BO X RICK”. I just put the rest together and told Touch what to write about. He came back with the perfect verse, he killed it!! I still can’t get over it. I am so proud of that song, and to make it into a video just was the icing on the cake. I guess you could say that I co-directed it because I was the only Maury fan in the crew; but a guy by the name of Steve van Diest, whom I went to college with, did such great work on that video and he even came up with a lot of creative ideas as well; it turned out great.

HHC: What is the next single and will there be a video to accompany it?

Nato: Well, at this point we are looking to ride this video out for awhile. It had about 4,000 views on YouTube in about a month and a half. I’m not going to be happy until it’s at 20,000. The bottom line is that we did this all on our own with no financial assistance from anybody. Would we like to do a big budget video? Of course, but we don’t have the money and it seems like nobody wants to give it to us. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do and I think that we’ve been forced to be more creative. I couldn’t be much happier right now. I mean, if everybody went out and copped the album and told one friend that’d be nice!

HHC: Which song on Intelligent Design is your personal favorite and why?

Nato: I’ve got to say my favorite is “What I Really Wanna Say” featuring Cadence Weapon. That’s got two Edmonton-bred heavyweights over one of my favorite beats. You can’t get much better. It’s hypnotizing.

Touch: My favorite would be “Where I Reside”. It’s just such a banging intro beat, it sets the mood for the album perfectly.

HHC: Tell us about upcoming tours that will be supporting your albums release.

Touch: We’re looking to tour next spring. Hopefully we’ll have some floors to crash on; maybe people will buy a shirt and a disc. That’d be nice. We want to continue doing this shit so touring is surely coming as soon as we can.

HHC: What does the near future hold for Touch & Nato? The new album is out so should be looking for a follow-up or will you be focusing on different things?

Nato: We are focused on getting this album out right now but are always thinking about new material. I think we’d be stupid to stop making music together, it’s just too easy.

Touch: I’m already writing for the second album so as soon as Nate Bone hits me with some beats, it’s on. And I’m working on beats myself, as well as with other producers, so you’ll be hearing a lot from me soon.

HHC: Who else are you feeling in the Edmonton/Alberta scene? Canada-wide?

Nato: Of course we are feeling our partner Cadence Weapon. And my crew, the Low Budget Affiliates… also Politic Live, Conspiracy, Dragon Fli Empire, all of the Foultone artists, and DJ Kutdown.

Touch: I’m going to add Epic and Ira Lee, both Saskatchewan implants, but they add a great diversity to our scene. Canada-wide, I’ve always liked Marvel, Kemo, Class, Wordburglar, the Dirty Crew and the good old F.O.S. [Figu rez Ov Speech] crew from Sauks on up.

HHC: Nato, which other artists are you working with? Making beats for?

Nato: I’m real excited for Cadence Weapon’s next album to drop cause I’ve got a beat on that one; I’m the only producer, other than him, to be on any of his albums so far. My crew, LBA, just released an album called The Damage is Done. I’ve got a couple beats on that. I’m also trying to finish up my second mixtape with all of my production, it should be pretty good.

HHC: Thanks guys. Was there anything we didn't mention that you wanted to touch on? Any shout-outs?

Nato: I want to thank all of the people that helped our broke asses get some shine. I’d also like to thank Cancon for assisting us in reaching the number one spot for hip-hop on campus radio. Check out our exclusive promo, everybody is asking us why we just didn’t use the songs for the next album! It’s for you and it’s free. But if you are feeling it then go to HMV and order Intelligent Design.

Touch: I want to thank campus radio for giving us a shot and supporting our project. I wasn’t sure if people would give it a fair shot since most of you haven’t heard of us, but it seems DJ’s are welcoming us with open arms. That means a lot. And thanks to Jesse and Johnny at HipHopCanada.com.

Editor's note: For more information on Touch & Nato check out http://www.myspace.com/touchandnato, http://www.myspace.com/touch182 and http://www.myspace.com/djnato.

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I have serious issues. My head is like Tetsuo or Johnny Mnemonic or a Scanner or something... every morning when I wake up, it takes about 2 hours for me to feel "stable"... it's like all this psychic energy is flying around my skull, and my dreamworld is stitched into my real world, and I can't make my mind up as to which one is reality and which one is fantasy. I swear to every God in the universe, that when I go to sleep, I GO SOMEWHERE REAL. My dreams have so much detail, I can see the blades of grass, I can see the cracks in the concrete, I can see the sky and clouds hundreds of miles away, I see apartment buildings with hundreds of individual people in them, I see people's smiles with every single possible tiny little memory on them. Knowing the meaning of this is probably an exercise in futility because I'm sure that everyone's head is a totally separate universe. I affect others with my universe (and I frighten them away with my love and instability, that's for sure too) as Diane gets unexplainable headaches by being around me sometimes, which I hoped could be healed somehow, but not yet, and I'm not on a mental/spiritual/intellectual path like ANYONE in the world that I know right now. Why would any of those "interpret your dream" books help me? Only I can help me. But the question is: WHO AM I?

peace from
Adhimu?
Mindbender?
the soul in this body is still figuring that out...