Anyone could get clapped in the D. No one’s prone to the violence that’s clutched Motown as of late—not even the rappers who’ve “made it.” When poverty is amidst, so are the hammers. D-12 rapper, Proof, was slain from a gunshot to the head and solo rapper, Obie Trice, barely escaped the same fate. It’s real in the streets of Detroit right now. Emerging emcee, Guilty Simpson was almost swallowed up by this very environ living a life that consisted of getting over by hook or crook—usually crook. After a few run-ins that nearly sent him to the pearly gates, he decided to look to the microphone for an honest buck. Becoming a mainstay in the breeding ground that brought us some of Hip Hop’s finest (J-Dilla, Eminem, Elzhi, Phat Kat and Slum Village), Guilty Simpson used that same aggression and straight-forward orientation on the mic to land himself a deal with Stones Throw. Now, he travels the world slinging rap tunes instead of well, you know, rocks.
NobodySmiling.com: You’ve done a lot of touring overseas. It seems like they have a greater appreciation of Hip Hop outside of the United States. Do you feel that’s true and if so, why?
Guilty Simpson: I think we appreciate it too but they’re able to really appreciate underground Hip Hop because they know where it started from. They’re more based on the foundation of rap as opposed to swaying with the new fads. You can look at it the same way as how kids in the United States might not appreciate the education that’s really laid at their feet. Then you might take students that come from other countries who do and end up becoming doctors and shit. It’s a different type of appreciation when you’re able to admire something from a distance; when you can just appreciate the art form. We take it for granted a little bit around here but I think the major corporations played a large part in that.
NobodySmiling.com: I know touring overseas must have been a crazy experience for you. Do you have any stories that stick out in your mind from your time overseas?
Guilty Simpson: Yeah man probably just my first time over there. It kind of was overwhelming. A couple of my homies like Slum [Village], Phat Kat and Black Milk had been over there before I had. They tried to prep me as much as possible before I went over there about the love and the type of energy they give over there. Once you go over there and you see it first-hand, you get a better idea of what they’re talking about but if you haven’t been over there then you can’t totally relate. Once, I had been onstage overseas and they got like a mosh pit going. They were really wildin’ out. That energy is one of the biggest differences over there.
You know one of most memorable moments was when I went to Paris. They told me about how people from Paris felt about Americans and all this stuff. I went over there with Black Milk and Sean P[rice]. Right after I got through doing my set, they called me back out and they gave me some Air 1s with my face all on them. Sean P’s face was on them. It was for our group (Random Ax). They gave me the impression that Paris was going to be unwelcome to us and a rough stretch on the tour but they had a lot of genuine love for us. So that was really overwhelming that someone would take their hard-earned money and make me some shoes and not take one Euro for them.
Nobodysmiling.com: You have music in your bloodline with your father and grandfather being artists. How much did their careers as performing musicians affect your decision to rap?
Guilty Simpson: When I was younger I didn’t take it for what it was worth. One thing I can say is that what they were doing didn’t necessarily inspire me to be a musician or performer per se but it did give me a love for the music. My father would work a nine to five and come home from work and pull out his alto saxophone and play for hours on top of hours. So when I was young I’d just sit and watch him do that. But I was more the type that thought the pussy dudes played in the band. I kind of had a cloudy vision of what my destiny would be. I think everything happens for a reason. But they definitely instilled inside of me a…well my pops didn’t usually get paid to do venues but they’d always be there. He was always dedicated to the band. It just made me, more or less, recognize and acknowledge the power of music without directly being involved in it. Then once I got into it, it all clicked and it all made sense with my father, my grandfather, just everything. I eventually got on the page but at a young age I was so inexperienced…I wanted to be Tony Dorsett or Walter Payton or shit like that. In hindsight, I understand it and in hindsight I wish I would’ve picked up one of those instruments they tried to get for me.
NobodySmiling.com: I hear Kool G Rap is one of your favorites. What was it about Kool G Rap that inspired/influenced you?
Guilty Simpson: His content was gutter but at the same time, syllable-wise and the way he could rhyme, he embodied a real emcee to me. You have to understand listening to rap music in Detroit, we idolized rappers because of what they could say on the mic. But being in the hood in Detroit, we idolized dudes that were getting money…like real life gangsters. So applying that to my musical life and my real life, G Rap just embodied everything. He was a gangster rapper, and a rapper’s rapper. The same thing goes for Ice Cube, Scarface but G Rap was my top guy man. I hear a lot of emcees borrow from him, but he’s not really held as high amongst the general fan consensus as one of the greatest rappers but he’s definitely a common named name amongst peers who do this.
NobodySmiling.com: What was life before rap like for you?
Guilty Simpson: It was wild. I got into my late teens, early 20s…if you don’t have direction in a city like this or any city where you have poverty directly in your face like Detroit and you don’t have a vision you’ll get swallowed up by your environment. I was wildin’ out, fighting, shooting just doing dumb ass shit. I never really tried to be the big drug dealer guy or nothing like that. We used to rob a lot of niggas but, I thank God for giving me that direction because there’s a lot of people that are talented but didn’t really follow up on their talent and got engulfed by the environment in Detroit. After awhile, you’re going to be one of two things: either a drug dealer or a fiend. Those weren’t options that I really wanted to deal with. I didn’t really want to deal with a drug dealer’s conscience or not knowing if a fiend was going to kill you, a rival drug dealer, the police…I didn’t really want to make that my direction. I have people that did choose that lifestyle, that I love to this day that I’ll bust slugs for, but I just didn’t think that was right for me. I always felt deep down that there was something different planned for me.
NobodySmiling.com: Was there one major event that lead to your change from the streets to rap?
Guilty Simpson: Yeah man, there were several events. Before I got deep into the rap stuff we used to be out here thuggin’ just doing dumb stuff. There were a couple of times when we got into it with some people and dudes out here don’t play. We’d be out here wildin’ and fighting and doing whatever and I just had a couple of brushes with death where someone could have easily killed me. You just kind of realize this isn’t the life for me. It wasn’t that I was scared or anything like that. It was just a point, during a couple of times, where I was like it’s time to grow up from that stupid shit especially arguing over words especially when you start compromising the safety of your family or your livelihood you know stuff you really stand for. Simple words in the club or screaming out the wrong neighborhood, that wasn’t reason enough to die in these streets of Detroit. So, I just gave that shit up.
NobodySmiling.com: You rhyme a lot about police brutality and your dislike for the police. What are some of your experiences that made you feel that way?
Guilty Simpson: Man, you know friend’s experiences and my own experiences. I got a homie right now who got shot by the police over nothing. They do a whole lot of dirty shit to us. I understand that you’re here to enforce the laws and you want to have some type of structure but my experiences have always been they’re fucking with me for nothing just because I may fit a certain criteria of who they feel like the enemy should be. You have to understand I’m coming from kids just trying to have fun—and this is before I got into the street shit—to full responses from mad squad cars. I remember a long time ago a dude in our neighborhood got shot and the police showed up and they were real casual about getting this man the assistance he needed. When you’re really in the hood and you grow up in an area that’s not financially flourishing, police have a certain attitude where they treat everybody in generalities like since you live here you have to be like this. I just think they treat poor people unfairly. I got homies right now that’s locked up because, till this day, he says that he didn’t do what they said he did. It’s a whole lot of things. They used to do shit like pull us over because we were in the wrong neighborhood and do some shit like lock our keys in the car and make us walk home you know bullshit like that. I just don’t get along with cops. There are some good ones but it’s a lot of bad ones and I don’t have the time of day to figure out who’s good and who’s bad so fuck em’. I don’t really trust them.
NobodySmiling.com: How’d you meet J-Dilla (R.I.P.)?
Guilty Simpson: There used to be this spot right outside of Detroit where they had open mics. I was one of the emcees there week in week out on my thing. This particular night, the place was packed. Dilla and them were in the house and I didn’t even know it. I got off the stage after doing my thing and shortly after that, my man DJ Houseshoes called me and asked me how I felt about working with Dilla. Of course, I wanted to do that. I was like shit, of course. Later on that week I was in the lab with Dilla. I had already knew about his work but he actually came to a club, saw me onstage doing my thing and from then on he knew he wanted to work with me, so I was thankful for that. I’m glad he chose that club that night to go hang out.
NobodySmiling.com: I know you had a lot of buzz brewing from “Strapped” and the labels were probably sending all kinds of deals your way. What made you sign with Stones Throw?
Guilty Simpson: I had a couple of options man. I think the main thing was to find a place that gave the artist the freedom to do what he wants to do and Stones Throw is not afraid to let the artists do their thing whether it succeeds or fail. It’s just the fact they understand the concept of giving an artist room to grow. I can’t think about making a Jeezy type of record while making my album or guess what my record’s going to sound like I’m trying to be Young Jeezy. Just having that freedom in general and to just have the label send out records, it makes it real, real easy. A lot of the other situations I was in, I wasn’t necessarily sure if I would’ve have been able to control it like that. They (Stones Throw) gave me gravy paperwork. It’s real hard to get rich especially on an independent label but they put me in the position with my paperwork where I’d be able eat and I’m positive I wouldn’t have been able to get that from any other labels. If I was, it definitely wouldn’t have been a label that has a reputation for putting out quality records like Stones Throw. Dilla was there and up until the time he passed, he had nothing but good things to say about ST (Stones Throw). It was just a good fit for me.
NobodySmiling.com: Stones Throw has one of the most diverse rosters. What’s the typical day in the office like there?
Guilty Simpson: I’m still in Detroit but I go to L.A. quite a bit. When I’m in L.A., I get up smoke some weed to get my body right (laughs) then I go to the lab. Next I head to the label, chop it up with MED, Madlib, J Rocc too… Basically, it’s just a real good vibe when I’m dealing with them. When I’m there it’s really all love. So I do all that then I get lifted and probably go to a party in Hollywood. Peanut Butter Wolf is always on the tables somewhere so we might just go there, kick it and just vibe out. That’s really what I do in L.A. It’s like a vacation from Detroit. I’m not trying make it seem all bad but it’s just kind of tense here just the way the people carry themselves in general. It’s tense. When you go to L.A., everyone’s relaxed. I probably got a jaded view because I’m in Hollywood a lot as opposed to Compton or South Central which I’m sure has a Detroit vibe to them. Basically, when I’m out there I kick my feet up and just parlay and smoke good.
NobodySmiling: What can we expect from your upcoming debut, Ode to the Ghetto?
Guilty Simpson: I’m still grounded by that old Hip Hop shit. It’s going to have that grimey ass content, ridiculous ass beats and hardcore lyrics to it. It’s not going to be about nothing crazy like killing babies or let’s go shoot your momma however I’m not watering down what I’m trying to do to cater to some type of audience. A lot of people who do know about me and have been following me from day one, they know what kind of emcee I am. Rather then going outside of my element, I’d rather stay true to the people that do follow me and let my fan base grow from there. You’re going to get raw ass Detroit shit with beats from Madlib, Oh No, Black Milk, Mr. Porter, Dilla. Regardless of who it is you’re going to get a motherfucker who’s going to give you the tour of some Detroit shit. You’re going to hear about the guy down the street that does dirt but in my rhymes you’re going to hear about why he does dirt too really getting into details about why shit is the way it is. At end of the day, what I want to project is real shit over some banging ass beats.
NobodySmiling.com: What would make this a successful debut to you?
Guilty Simpson: I don’t want to put it in the sales realm. I want people that follow my work to stand by it. I don’t know if at the end of the year that appreciation will come for my record. Maybe that’ll come five years from now when somebody is like I copped this record 5 years ago and I played it and the shit sounds just as good as when I first got it or it sounds better than it did when I first got it. I want my music to age well. I don’t want for it to just be hot for the times. I want some shit that’s going to age like wine. Even if someone was like this record is alright to me but now I’m listening to it 5 years later and this is the shit. I don’t even care if it has that Reasonable Doubt effect. We missed it at first and it came back and we’re like this is the shit. I want something I can look back on and be like I’m proud of that record. If I do that then I’ll be fine. My fan base will grow not to sound arrogant. I’m just confident in what I do. I didn’t win the lottery to be Guilty Simpson and put a record out. I put in work. If I stay true to myself, then things will work out.
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