How did you get started?

I rocked parties, talent shows, house parties until I built up a rep in my neighborhood. Then if you got that rep, you go to different neighborhoods, you battle people, you met people and your name just builds up from the underground. At least mine. And then you wanna do a record and you go for it, then you make it and keep goin' after that.

Your first record came out on Wild Pitch Records. What happened to it? It had some great acts signed.

My first album came out February 6th 1990 ["Funky Technician"]. I don't know. I spoke to Stu just before I came out here, he's like the owner of that label. He is re-releasing my album and the Main Source album [also the U.M.C.'s album], July 22nd of this year. I just think, Stu hat an incredible ear to discover artists, but when it came to puttin' the money behind the artist, I just think that never happened. He had me, Gang Starr, Main Source, UMC's, O.C.

Latee, The Coup, Street Military, Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud, Ultramagnetic M.C.'s for one album.

Yeah, Ultramagnetic, Chill Rob G, N-Tyce. He got a nice catalogue. It's one thing to put out records and another thing to satisfy the artist that's on your label. He knew to put out a record, but I don't think he knew how to satisfy the artist.

What can we expect from you in the future?

Right now, we are finishing this D.I.T.C. album. We are six songs deep, with everybody rhyming as one. That should be done in mid-summer. My new album should drop around September, October. It's like a format we file on right now: the Diamond and O.C. album will drop around the same time. Then the Diggin' album is coming after that. Then my album is coming after that. You got Fat Joe, and probably Show & A.G. coming after that. And then Big L, I don't know, when he's starting on his new album. He's gonna be featured on all our new albums until he works on his album. It's really like one hand helps the other hand.

I guess it's time now to finish this interview.

Naw, it's cool, come on, I got time.

Okay, then. This Urban Skillz her, Workshops, graffiti, djing, etc. What do you think about that?

That's why I said it's cool. I came out here to network with y'all. I mean you don't get to see me all the time. Like in New York, rap is boring because you see everybody. Out here people really appreciate the whole artform of hip hop, that's why I love coming out here. I'm here for people walk up to me and ask me questions. I'm here for people to ask me about D.I.T.C., or maybe the culture of hip hop, or whatever I can help you with. That's why I'm here. I mean we did the same thing in Denmark. There was another convention called "Sub Coast". And whenever they gonna hook up another thing, I'm gonna be here. About two days before I got here, I came back from Japan. So I go around and communicate with all races and all cultures. Because hip hop is one culture: y'all enjoy it, Japan people enjoy it. And I love to come out here and do this, 'cause I feel that people from other cultures appreciate hip hop more than people in the states. It's like if y'all eat chocolate cake every day. I mean y'all wouldn't like chocolate cake that much anymore, you'd go: "Oh chocolate cake, man, I'm tired of it". But if I came out here, and we don't have chocolate cake out in the states, I would go: "I want more chocolate cake". And it's the same thing with hip hop and all. When a rapper from the states comes here, you're like "Oh man Das Efx is here, or KRS-One is here, it's incredible". But back in New York it's like "Das Efx, oh they live around my corner", or "KRS, I saw him the other day". The States is spoiled to hip hop because they hear and get it so much. I really enjoy performing out here, because I feel like I really get appreciated more out here, than in the States. In the States I'm an underground artist, but here and Japan I'm like on of the top. So of course I'm love being here, and love doing interviews, and love talking to people, because they appreciate what I'm about, what I try to do.

So can you agree with what Brother ?uestion from the Roots said, like that in Europe the Hip hop scene is more down to earth, the money is not that omnipresent.

Yeah, when you're in New York, it's like, who got the fattest chain, who's driving the dopest car, who's fucking who. And here it's just real hip hop. I don't think a pop artist, an incredible commercial rap artist could come here and enjoy this. They not used to this shit. They'd go "take me back to my five star hotel", "call my limo". I don't think a pop artists could play on some "Urban Skillz" shit. They need some big concert hall, coliseum type shit. They are not used to walk around communicating with people, like this. Me, I did this all my life, so I can appreciate this. And I don't know nothing better, than sit around here, kicking it with people who like hip hop. Because I'm not into that gold and platinum shit. I'm into that down to earth shit. I love the greatness of hip hop, the underground, to perform in a little club that's jammed packed with 2000 people, that's vibin' to your stuff. You can put more into it, you could just do new shit, that you didn't even do in New York, where it would be, like "hhmmm, yo, okay, what's next, what's next", you know. Here, it's like you [people[ love to hear this. Every time I got the chance to come over here, I'll come.

You know, we'd love to come over to New York, once in a while.

Yeah, New York is a busy town. At one, two o'clock, this whole shit here in Switzerland shuts down. New York it's like 24/7. There's always something going on. You come to New York, and you gonna be tired. Me, I'm not that much in clubs, more in a studio. I really like to stay and spend time at home, watching movies, do a lot of reading.

So that's like your source of inspiration?

Especially reading now, because, now you have to have a certain type of message in your music today, to keep your fans going. Something positive that they could vibe off, something they could take home and really appreciate. I'm getting older, I'm like 27. I'm not going to be able to rap that much longer, I mean maybe, up to 29. I can't rap forever, so I have to make the best out of it. Maybe after the rap thing, I gonna do that label, maybe I open a clothing store, a record store, you know, keep building. Rap is like the steppingstone. If you get popular enough you do commercials. If you get more popular you do movies, and you keep going and keep going. I just have been straight rap for a long time, but now I got to expand more.

In your lyrics, you're like battling all the time, like "Hip hop without Lord Finesse, is like life without oxygen".

Lord   Because I feel like I bring the funk to Hip Hop. The funk beats, the flow, the rhymes. That's what I like to bring to hip hop. I mean that's what hip hop was like back in the days: battling and battling. But now it's so commercialized, that the culture is taking a turn for the worse sometimes. Now it's all about getting radio play. It's not about battling no more. It's not about dope beats, everything is commercial, commercial, commercial. Can I get played on the radio, and if I can't it ain't dope. And that's bullshit.
Redl   I'm from Primitive Lyrics, a local hip hop band. You were talking about doing remixes and producing music for other people. Is it possible to do a remix for a group, like we here in Switzerland.
Lord   That's hard. If I'd do a remix, I'd have to ask you what crowd, you want me to do a remix for. Do you wanna smooth remix, a rough remix. And since I can't understand your lyrics, you have to tell me what you want for me to do a remix. But you can do a remix to everything.
I heard like Jungle music is the big thing out here right?

Naw, not really.

Is it too commercialized?

Naw, it's not that. It's just like more big in London.

So you see, it's big in London, and you got now people in the US rhyming over jungle beats now.

We have like a lot of Jungle Remixes on European releases, like Nine, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Dr. Octagon.

It's all down to a buck. It's like "how can we get a play in London? Put 'em on a jungle beat". Then it might come off, it might come not. That's like the commercial part of hip hop.

Why are there so few collaborations between European and American artists? We have like Solaar and Guru, IAM and Sunz Of Man, etc.

It's easy to make it happen, just come to the US and hook up with someone. But as I said: money plays a part. Because the Europeans artists come out to New York, go "I wanna do a song with Method Man" and Method Man might want 15'000 to 20'000, and they can't afford that, so they can't get a Method Man remix. I mean, Guru is down to earth, I'm down to earth. You just gotta negotiate, I'm not gonna make an easy swap. But I'm not gonna undercut myself and do a remix for dirt cheap. You know we all gonna level it out and negotiate.
What you gotta think about is: you normally sell about 10'000 records. Now you wanna do a record with Finesse. I got like maybe, 40-50 thousand fans. If you think that only half of them 50 thousand fans on your ten thousand, just on the strength that I'm gonna rhyme on it. But a lot of people don't see it like that, they just see and go: I wanna do my ten thousand. And then they might not end up doing more.a song in Swiss German, there are probably about 10'000 or 5000 people who buy it.

But it's easy to do collaborations with people, you just gotta call the label, hook up, ask them.
Wu-Tang said, if it would have been only there decision, they would have put all kinds of languages on their new album. Because they want to be international. And also Ras Kass said, that he would do something with someone else, but he would really have to trust, that artist, and know what he's gonna rhyme.
But I mean, we are here, why don't you hook up?

You also gotta understand, that sometimes it's not the rapper, but also the label, that will say "No". That happens a lot. Even with me, knowing Method Man or others. They don't have no control over there career. He's a platinum artist, so they gonna feel, that I have more to gain, with doing a record with him, then he has to gain, so they say "No, no, no". It's the same thing with an European act. They look if their artist can gain something out of that thing. Or if an act is getting ready to drop an album, like right now, I'm in the middle of working on my album, and the only thing they let me to be on is the D.I.T.C., cause that's my crew. But if somebody else's coming, they go "no", because they want me to do the album first, and then I can do whatever I want.
By the way, how do you like this Urban Skillz thing?

Well, it's a good idea, to pay homage to a often criticized culture and gathering together all kinds and aspects of it. What I don't like is that it seems like everybody is still sticking to himself. There are no open conversations, no exchanges of ideas, no communications between the people. But one can't organize that, that has to happen, and because the arrogance in this culture, is so huge, it doesn't seem to happen. But apart from that, I really enjoy the program, I think they got some impressive act here, and I'm certainly looking forward to that.
What was like the coolest experience while performing?

The place that shook me up was Brixton. That was like real underground and they knew my lyrics word for word and I was like shocked. That was dope, ever since then I'm coming out here. What I try to do, at the end of the year, is touring with the whole D.I.T.C. That's something we are really looking forward to do. That's just gonna be incredible that's gonna be the shit: seven or eight of us, on the stage at the same time. We did it like twice in New York and it was like incredible.

Will you also come to Europe?

Yeah. I think it's easier to do a Europe tour than an US tour. Because the US is commercialized. They gonna think about "can they play coliseums?". But it's easier to play in European underground clubs, because that's where we are mainly known.

I always wonder why there are not more tours through colleges in the States?

Colleges is cool. When you deal with people, because of a tour, money is a big thing. You gotta have a tour bus, gotta have a decent place to stay at. And a lot of colleges can't afford it. It becomes a money thing, with this tour thing. With the D.I.T.C. it could make it easier, because all 5, 6 of us is known. So you take your loyal fans, and take 'em in one place: the O.C. fans, the Finesse fans, the Diamond fans, the Show & A.G. fans. They are probably anyway. And you get them to come out.

The Source had something about that, like the problem with insurances.

Coliseums, maybe want half a million insurance in case something happens. But who can afford that? So they go with the same commercial acts. They might take the Fugees on the road. The Roots should be able to play. They not gonna take any underground artists on the road.

Did you ever do any graffiti or breakdance?

I never breakdanced. That wasn't me. I'ma try this graffiti thing, I have a little skillz, I'm not all that. I'ma do that later today, or tomorrow. But I never bombed like that, just do a little scribble scrabble on a wall or on a notebook. I never tried to control no spray paint can, or some real art.

So how long you gonna be here.

I'm gonna be here until about Sunday, and then I gotta go back to the states, and try to finish the work on the Diggin In The Crates and my album.

back to part 1...