IPOD
RADIO
Bootie Brown
By Daniel Robert Epstein
Apr 26, 2006
Bootie Brown is the one of the founders of the seminal rap group Pharcyde. In the past few years he’s been more of a behind the scenes type guy with his label Chapter One. Recently he was nominated for a Grammy for his work on the Gorillaz.
Check out the website for Chapter One
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to?
Bootie Brown: I’m about to go to Home Depot [laughs].
DRE:
What are you getting?
BB:
I’ve got to go get some drywall screws to get my studio together.
DRE:
I know you didn’t win any Grammys but how was being at the event?
BB:
I didn’t go because I was actually building my studio. It’s too much hype for me. I would probably go if I had a requirement to be there or something. That would be ok. A lot of people put so much on you and once the night is over you got to go to work the next day.
DRE:
Are you sorry you didn’t see Sly Stone perform?
BB:
Oh man I saw it on TV and it was one of the classic award moments. They don’t happen too often and when he left the stage the look on Steve Tyler’s face was just incredible.
DRE:
Is Chapter One still around?
BB:
Yeah, we’re still doing some stuff. Basically what happened is we had a flood in our office so everything had to be shut down. Then the building got condemned. It’s just been a process. Now we’re just trying to rebuild everything. It’s all well and good though because our next project is going to be Imani’s album which is going to come out this summer.
DRE:
What’s Imani’s album going to be like?
BB:
I think you’re going to recognize it as Pharcyde, but the whole purpose of Imani as a solo artist is being able to stand up and say “hey, this is who I am.” It’s definitely going to be new. But there are Pharcyde fans and then there are Pharcyde listeners. A Pharcyde fan will hear that stuff and say, “oh man, that’s got to be Imani’s stuff.” But a Pharcyde listener may be like “oh man, I don’t really understand that.” But so far from what I’ve heard it’s going to be tight.
DRE:
Are you working on an album as well?
BB:
Yeah definitely but I’m not looking to do mine until 2007. I’ve been thinking about the concept, but I never could nail it down except in pieces. Actually while driving today I thought of 90 percent of the concept.
DRE:
Does that happen a lot while you are driving?
BB:
Sometimes I think silence is the best time. When I’m working on something and it’s just like silent, my mind has its own theme music playing.
DRE:
What is Chapter One’s role exactly?
BB:
We do the whole thing [laughs]. We pretty much handle negotiations between the artist and the distributor and marketing as well. There’s not one element that we don’t see. There are some things I wish I didn’t have to see, like, “damn, why I got to do that?” [laughs] But at the end of the day you can’t really complain about anybody else. You have to take responsibility. You have to say “oh it was entirely my mistake.” Then when something goes good, you can say “I knew I knew what I was doing.” I also like the respect that you get from people when they know that you put so much work into.
DRE:
Do you ever see doing projects with other artists besides yourself and members of Pharcyde?
BB:
That’s the whole process. We have cats that we’ve always worked with but at this time I just want to leave myself open. I’ve invested money in projects and they just didn’t work out for whatever reason. So now I’m just being a little more cautious and saying, “hey I know I’ve got to spend some money in the project but at the same time I just need somebody that’s just basically going to work as hard as I’m willing to work for this thing.” I know the other people from Pharcyde are always going to work that.
DRE:
When are the Gorillaz going to give you your own cartoon character?
BB:
Oh my God. [laughs] You think I need one?
DRE:
[laughs] It’d be kind of fun, wouldn’t it?
BB:
It could be cool. Damon [Albarn] has got like a lot of projects coming. Who knows when the next album’s going to be, but I’m pretty sure they’re going to be thinking about it. He has at least five projects that he’s getting ready to put out.
DRE:
Obviously on some level being behind a cartoon character somehow frees up Damon and the other guys to do something amazing. What do you think that does for them and did that help inspire you at all?
BB:
I think it makes it limitless. To those who enjoy animation or to some people who are just even curious, they get into it. I think the music stands out by itself also, but at the same time the whole concept behind it is so limitless. They have the perfect artist that never gets tired, never complains and can always do a video.
DRE:
How did you end up on the Gorillaz album?
BB:
The Pharcyde had done a project with Danger Mouse and he told me he had another project going and he wanted to know if I was interested. Then when I was at his house he played the track. I liked it a lot and he let me take it for about three weeks.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Bootie Brown is the one of the founders of the seminal rap group Pharcyde. In the past few years he’s been more of a behind the scenes type guy with his label Chapter One. Recently he was nominated for a Grammy for his work on the Gorillaz.
Check out the website for Chapter One
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to?
Bootie Brown: I’m about to go to Home Depot [laughs].
DRE:
What are you getting?
BB:
I’ve got to go get some drywall screws to get my studio together.
DRE:
I know you didn’t win any Grammys but how was being at the event?
BB:
I didn’t go because I was actually building my studio. It’s too much hype for me. I would probably go if I had a requirement to be there or something. That would be ok. A lot of people put so much on you and once the night is over you got to go to work the next day.
DRE:
Are you sorry you didn’t see Sly Stone perform?
BB:
Oh man I saw it on TV and it was one of the classic award moments. They don’t happen too often and when he left the stage the look on Steve Tyler’s face was just incredible.
DRE:
Is Chapter One still around?
BB:
Yeah, we’re still doing some stuff. Basically what happened is we had a flood in our office so everything had to be shut down. Then the building got condemned. It’s just been a process. Now we’re just trying to rebuild everything. It’s all well and good though because our next project is going to be Imani’s album which is going to come out this summer.
DRE:
What’s Imani’s album going to be like?
BB:
I think you’re going to recognize it as Pharcyde, but the whole purpose of Imani as a solo artist is being able to stand up and say “hey, this is who I am.” It’s definitely going to be new. But there are Pharcyde fans and then there are Pharcyde listeners. A Pharcyde fan will hear that stuff and say, “oh man, that’s got to be Imani’s stuff.” But a Pharcyde listener may be like “oh man, I don’t really understand that.” But so far from what I’ve heard it’s going to be tight.
DRE:
Are you working on an album as well?
BB:
Yeah definitely but I’m not looking to do mine until 2007. I’ve been thinking about the concept, but I never could nail it down except in pieces. Actually while driving today I thought of 90 percent of the concept.
DRE:
Does that happen a lot while you are driving?
BB:
Sometimes I think silence is the best time. When I’m working on something and it’s just like silent, my mind has its own theme music playing.
DRE:
What is Chapter One’s role exactly?
BB:
We do the whole thing [laughs]. We pretty much handle negotiations between the artist and the distributor and marketing as well. There’s not one element that we don’t see. There are some things I wish I didn’t have to see, like, “damn, why I got to do that?” [laughs] But at the end of the day you can’t really complain about anybody else. You have to take responsibility. You have to say “oh it was entirely my mistake.” Then when something goes good, you can say “I knew I knew what I was doing.” I also like the respect that you get from people when they know that you put so much work into.
DRE:
Do you ever see doing projects with other artists besides yourself and members of Pharcyde?
BB:
That’s the whole process. We have cats that we’ve always worked with but at this time I just want to leave myself open. I’ve invested money in projects and they just didn’t work out for whatever reason. So now I’m just being a little more cautious and saying, “hey I know I’ve got to spend some money in the project but at the same time I just need somebody that’s just basically going to work as hard as I’m willing to work for this thing.” I know the other people from Pharcyde are always going to work that.
DRE:
When are the Gorillaz going to give you your own cartoon character?
BB:
Oh my God. [laughs] You think I need one?
DRE:
[laughs] It’d be kind of fun, wouldn’t it?
BB:
It could be cool. Damon [Albarn] has got like a lot of projects coming. Who knows when the next album’s going to be, but I’m pretty sure they’re going to be thinking about it. He has at least five projects that he’s getting ready to put out.
DRE:
Obviously on some level being behind a cartoon character somehow frees up Damon and the other guys to do something amazing. What do you think that does for them and did that help inspire you at all?
BB:
I think it makes it limitless. To those who enjoy animation or to some people who are just even curious, they get into it. I think the music stands out by itself also, but at the same time the whole concept behind it is so limitless. They have the perfect artist that never gets tired, never complains and can always do a video.
DRE:
How did you end up on the Gorillaz album?
BB:
The Pharcyde had done a project with Danger Mouse and he told me he had another project going and he wanted to know if I was interested. Then when I was at his house he played the track. I liked it a lot and he let me take it for about three weeks.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
