Interview by Quinton Hatfield

If you don’t know Dame Grease is indeed on of the prominent producers of the hardcore east coast hip-hop brought to us in the late 90’s. DMX, The Lox, were some artist where ihis best records came which lead to him making huge cuts on other major projects. The man Dame Grease has credentials under his belt believe it or not and Google his name to really see what’s good. Bringing you the new album “Goon Musik” with his new joint album venture with BabyGrande/Vacant Lot Music also is about to show you his MCing skills. Matter fact as he says it himself Dame is a hood-narrator. Aside from that in this exclusive interview for THATSHIPHOP.COM we get to know his early days in the streets of Harlem when he was out grinding to get where he is, his influence on Swizz Beatz, and why he loves the current state of hip-hop.

THH: I was recently online and see you have some things going on with Goon Muzik and the BabyGrande deal, so would you like to get into that?

DG: Yeah man that’s my album right there it’s called “Goon Muzik” which this is Volume 1 that I’m about to put out. I signed a deal with BabyGrande and we all came together with a joint deal situation. Goon Muzik is almost like a New York state of mind type album and it’s straight-gutter. But anybody that knows my music knows it’s not one sided it’s actually universal. It’s nothing clean as this album is the opposite of clean.

THH: Will this be a production album or Dame Grease as the artist?

DG: Oh nah I’m actually the artist on this one. I’m on every track whether it be verse, hook, and actually I produced all thirteen tracks on the album. I actually produced, mixed, and engineered the whole album in my studio. The thing is I’m not going to come out and say I’m an artist, but I’m not a rapper. I’m a hood-narrator so that’s what I do. When I come on I’m a hood narrate and have my boys come on and eat.

THH: The last time we talked first we’ve talked about your production, but you told me how you was always rapping. What you think it was at the time you was making hits to now like “Okay I want to showcase my MCing skills to let people know what it is”?

DG: Actually nah that’s not my shit [laughs]. I don’t want to showcase my skills I don’t give a fuck what people think what it is, because I’m kicking this shit from the heart. Actually I do care let me not be so crazy [laughs]. I do care, but the thing is I’m not coming from that angle. I’m just coming from an angle where I’m hood-narrating and to keep it real it’s been a lot of production on the big songs I have produced. A lot of times on songs that I’ve produced I give the artist concepts already. It’s more than 50% of Grease it’s actually 75% of Grease that goes into every song I do. I’m a keep it real man, I actually got frustrated with a couple close artists of mine that I’ve worked with that really didn’t want to listen to my direction in making good hit music. So I just ahead and did the damn shit myself, but I put it to the fact that I’m not rapping. I’m a producer and I’m grateful of God for my talent and gift. I’m not trying to go into the rap game and be no spitter. I’m not Swizz Beatz, I’m Kanye West, I’m not Pharrell. When you hear me it’s Grease the Goon god.

THH: When you want something done right you got to do it yourself [laughs]!

DG: You damn right, [laughs], yes sir.

THH: You said your not a rapper or anything like that, but did you have any aspirations to rap before you got into the production? Or were you straight producer influenced by the Pete Rock’s and all the other cats back then, which came first?

DG: All of the above. I started out as a rapper in my group N.I.B. with me, Meeno, my brother who is actually an A&R at Vacant Lot and Big Sand, we was actually DMX’s label Bloddline. In my group N.I.B. the first song we made back in ’93 my boy made a beat for it. The thing was that I was always the concept maker of the song, I was a Puffy then. It was like give me the beat and it should go like this. The vision that I had was kind of beyond people so I actually started making my own music. My man Short Man was who I started with and he used to be like “Yo let that little nigga do what he doing, because he doing some crazy shit” [laughs]. At the time the thing I was doing was actually creating a new style and sound of production.

THH: I read in an article that you were affiliated with a group the Lennox Ave. Brothers is that the same group?

DG: You know how crews is we all the same crew, but particular Lennox Ave. Boyz was me, Meeno, Bigger Threat, E-Snaps, and Tony Wink. If people know the Vacant Lot history besides the Dame Grease producer history the Vacant Lot and my label history know that we went through a lot of ups and downs. We went through a lot and being survivors of all this and that is The Lennox Ave. Boyz.

THH: When we talked the last time you mentioned how you knew Sheek Louch, Jim Jones, DMX, and everybody. You mentioned how back in the day how ya’ll all was them same little dudes in the hood trying to get on. How this it feel now when ya’ll look back and say “Damn we finally made it”?

DG: It fuckin feel good [laughs], because if you think about it the bottom line basis was everybody loved to do music. Everybody loved to do music and was 100% hungry in doing what they do. Believe or not it’s matter fact in XXL where we talk about the whole DMX album. We was just a bunch of motherfuckers young and hungry. It just happened that we put our heads together, banged out, growing up we all went separate ways, but we become successful. It’s funny that right now in this day and age we are all the prime guys of the Northeast rap game.

THH: Everybody knows that you were the man behind some of DMX’s biggest records, but again the last time we talked you said DMX’s album “Dark & Hell is Hot is the Greatest album of all time”. Tell me why you think so?

DG: Well not only because I’ve done it let’s keep it real. Niggas is like “Nigga you did it of course you gonna say it’s the greastest album” [laughs]. It’s just that what we was doing on that motherfucker we was experimenting. We experimented and it just that what we experimented just so happen to rock the nation and not even the nation the world. That album don’t sound like any album you ever heard before. On other great albums you could probably compare to DMX’s albums because their probably a spin-off or look a like type of songs off that. That’s why I say it’s the greatest album of all time. Not only that it was a great seller and two it was a great inspiration for all the rappers that’s out right now. It’s almost like how Dre’s “Chronic” album came out and influenced people from that era. DMX “It’s Dark & Hell is Hot” was a great experience in ’98 the same as “Goon Musik” May 27th 2008 is a great experience for the next to come.

THH: As a producer what would you say is your greatest production?

DG: That’s hard and I ain’t going to lie. There is a lot of favorite and particular joints that I like, but for different reasons. I would say “This is for My Dogs” and “ATF” is my favorite ones, because believe it or not that’s one song. If you actually listen to it the blend is one whole song, but we just cut it up. Def Jam was like “That’s too experimental” so I was like fuck it let’s cut it up. That was one of my favorite gigs which actually got me movie scoring gigs.

THH: Speaking on that DMX album that was pretty much the foundation to the whole Ruff Ryders thing that was coming up at that time. A lot of those big tracks that you did for the album was also a time when Swizz was coming up. I wanted to know were you the inspiration for Swizz or was he already doing his thing, did he come up under you?

DG: Hell yeah Grease is an inspiration to Swizz Beatz everybody knows that, everybody knows that one [laughs].

THH: You know it was for all the people that wasn’t informed or just got up on hip-hop, or too young to grab the album, you know.

DG: Put it like this for the whole world this is what it is. Dame Grease did not teach Swizz Beatz how to make beats, but Dame Grease influenced Swizz Beatz to become the producer that he is today.

THH: Then there it is.

DG: Yes sir.

THH: Dame Grease said that very confident!

DG: Yes sir and can’t nobody take that away [laughs]. Not to kick any dirt or anything, but that’s the thing that makes me a lot powerful in coming from a unseen point to a seen point. It’s the thing that the streets and the whole industry knows, but a lot of people are always scared to say.

THH: A lot of people talk about the current state of hip-hop and it’s creativity. How do you feel about the current state from the time you came in up to this point?

DG: See that’s a funny question and I’m a keep it real. I’m from the Golden age, I was born in the tunnel [laughs]. I made the tunnel pop “If You Think I’m Jiggy”, “Get At Me Dog”.. People would think I’m one of them niggas that be like “Naw man the rap game is fucked up” that’s bullshit I love the way hip-hop is right now I love Soulja Boy. People are stupid and if the thing you doing don’t ever evolve who the fuck are you? Your actually making yourself stay trapped in time. I don’t believe in that as I appreciate all music no matter what it is. I don’t judge music and I’m not that person to say I don’t like that. I have my own opinion. Motherfuckers can say what they say, but I’m asay how I feel. I love the current state of hip-hop, yes we do need a lot more shit I would say that. That doesn’t mean you can knock off the shit that got our name “Hip-Hop’ in the air and that’s what people don’t understand.

THH: So will we see the Dame Grease and Soulja boy collab [laughs]?

DG: Oh hell yeah. Let me tell you it’s not just the gangsta music let me put it to my young dudes. From me being a musician first I fuck with all of it.

THH: What’s good with the website hiphopworld.tv?

DG: Yeah, we expanded and we going to staring catching live performances, of course the news, you can sign-up, and subscribe, promote your videos, this is dedicated to hip-hop. I’m actually going across the globe and it’s hip-hop in China that people in Atlanta, NeW York, or Los Angeles ain’t never heard. Hip-hop from India, England, Alaska, and that’s why I’m here to bring it.