Los Angeles Hip Hop

Big Hutch, who acted as the main supervising producer for Crooked I’s work at Death Row Records, talks to us about the forthcoming “Hood Star” Crooked I album release from the WIDEawake/Death Row vaults, hitting this Tuesday, June 15.

In this sit down, Hutch tells us why he feels the “Hood Star” material wasn’t released when it was recorded over a decade ago. Going over the logistics and direct and honest politics of the situation, Hutch gives us the run down on the road block they ran into with Death Row and their marketing division.

With many people talking about the release, Hutch tells us why he feels “Hood Star” will have a good impact on Crooked I’s career.

Hutch even throws in some talk about his time around Suge Knight!

Enjoy…

Interview: Why do you think “Hood Star” wasn’t brought out many years ago?

Big Hutch: Think about when you’re doing anything, you want to feel happy and know that the front office has your back. You want to feel like they support what you’re doing. We feel like your world is the world, but there is a healthy compromise you have to go through when you’re with a company that is already established like Death Row [Records]. Usually, they would think it’s all good because they would listen to the creative part of it. That’s why big labels come and go. These labels are tax write offs and independent labels are powerhouses – like Death Row and Ruthless did, like Murder Inc. did, or Aftermath [Entertainment]. Those are the labels that live through it. They had creativity and they won.

That’s the foundation of a Death Row. As you become so strong, there was a situation where we got into where we felt like they didn’t have our back, and the shit wasn’t gonna’ work. You just say we’re cool and everything is alright, you just feel like you have to keep working because music is magic. If you keep working, maybe you’ll get that magic back and other people may start to see how dope it is.

I understood them perfectly. It wasn’t like Crooked I had a flaw or was disrespectful. It was just about two different parties being unable to come to terms.

Interview: With “Hood Star” literally being his only solo release, how do you think this will impact his career?

Big Hutch: I think it’ll do really good. It’s a matter of people respecting what he really stands for in this game. I think it will do well for his career because it’s a great effort. He’s really a hard worker. He doesn’t cut a corner man. He’s not short like that. I think it’s gonna’ do great for his career. I think anytime you do something and have the right energy channeled in; it will do well for you.

Interview: People have complained about the track listing and the retail release of music that has already been leaked. However, unauthorized leaks at that.  Can you comment on that?

Big Hutch: Well we’re in that era too. As far as the catalog being revamped or re-flipping. Songs leaking online, it’s hard to avoid nowadays. You can’t get around it anymore. Everything is hard now. It’s not really special anymore when you start getting into this type of activity. Everything is on the internet. When I put my project out, it’s not special anymore. You can’t get around it and I don’t consider that a reason that anybody should have anything to say about. That’s where the game is at. We’re in that age where people are flipping music, moving things over here, putting it on that and so on. We’re in that era. It’s wrong for it to be like ok, y’all are doing this [leaking music] and other people are putting out records, and these people get the backlash for trying to do the right thing. If we’re trying to put out records and a bunch of the music leaks, we’re just trying to put records out. We’re not trying to sell you short or get you twice. You can’t help that. Are you mad at Interscope when a 50 Cent record leaks? Are you mad at that? What’s the backlash about? It’s like people need a reason to be mad.

Interview: It’s out of there control.

Big Hutch: Yeah, it’s out of there control. Once it’s out of the box, you know what happens next.

Interview: Compare the “Hood Star” material to his current material. Which Crooked I do you prefer?

Big Hutch: I prefer Crooked I (laughs). He’s that [Crooked I] on those records. To me, you have to realize, rap is like sports – you start off playing with somebody and they go to another team, you know they’re gonna’ bring that same game. For me, it’s the same. I prefer him doing Crooked because I never put Crooked in a box. I never told him look Crooked, you’re this type of artist. I told him he was a talented young dude and that he could have the world if he stays focused on getting it in and taking this game over. Anyone who says the “new” him is a better him, he’s the same. When I hear him, I hear the same thing. There is no difference. He wasn’t on some gangsta shit with Death Row.

Like it is now, I wouldn’t want to be who I was in 1994. I want to be who I am in 2010. Whether that’s better, maybe it should be better as far as the artist and what I’m creating in my mental mindset because I should grow.  He’s grown of course. He’s gone through a growth period. That’s a given though, it’s been over a decade. Do I like it better? No, I like it the same because his focus is still the same. His focus hasn’t gone away from being lyrically sharp, being focused, making the right records, being around the right people and doing the right stuff.

Interview: Are you ever still in contact with Crooked I?

Big Hutch: Oh yeah. We just hung out about a month ago. He’s on the road a lot. We went to the Goodie Mob show together. I talk to him from time to time. Even when I had to go away, I’ve always kept in contact with Crooked and I always followed what he was doing. I have a great love for whatever he does, because I know what’s behind what he’s doing. He’ll never sell himself short and he’ll never cut the corner. He has an old soul as some people say about young people. He’s just gonna’ do the right thing by him. 

Interview: Last Question… What was your time like around Suge Knight?

Big Hutch: It was cool. Suge brought me in to develop all these young artists. At that point, that was something I really wanted to do. I wanted to do the executive thing at that point. It was cool. He let me have my plate. I have known Suge since I was 19 years old, when I first came in the game. I have known Suge that long, when we were all at Ruthless. When he did Death Row and everybody left, he had to go away. He called me over to help him out. He was trying to build something that got kind of crazy. I had to step away, I went away and it just got crazy at that point.

Our friendship was cool. One thing I really respected about Suge was the fact that at points, he gets the bad reputation but he gave a lot of people a chance. He became this figure that people were afraid of, but he was always about the business. He never didn’t believe in someone. If you had talent, he told you that he wanted you to put your own stamp on it. It was always that kind of transition. It was never a situation where he didn’t respect your focus or your artistic integrity of what you’re doing. I had to respect that because so many moguls try to come in there and give you pointers on the music. Suge was the coach. He let the quarterback be the quarterback and he called the plays.

Share on Facebook