NigerianDonDada
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Kanye West is presently re-envisioning your world. Thats right, if the 35-year-old multi-disciplinary artist has his way, DONDA will rule everything around us. Seven-screen cinema, womenswear, menswear, design of all kind, even educationhe has a plan for it all. But it starts with music. G.O.O.D. Music, to be specific. West has cultivated a wildly diverse range of talentsincluding John Legend, Common, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Big Sean, Q-Tip, Mr. Hudson, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi, DBanj, Hit-Boy and (unofficially) 2 Chainzand will be releasing the ensembles first group album, Cruel Summer, this month. Complex assembled the massiveminus Kanye, who maintained his no press policyfor the first time to discuss this project, the crews creative chemistry, and Wests new world order.
What does G.O.O.D. Music mean to you?
Big Sean: Qualitythe best. Kanye put himself in a class that nobody can match, as far as evolving, progressing, and taking the best of what we learn and making more out of it. So the brand is just being the coolest. We dress the best, we rap the best, we sing the best, we look the best. [All laugh.] Its about getting the money, but its also about changing the world and doing what the fukk we want to do.
Pusha T: And knowing that its limitless. Thats the biggest thing that comes with G.O.O.D. Music. You get so much, and the fans get so much, in fukking with this brand. From G.O.O.D. Fridays to these 30-minute movies in the Middle East...
Kid Cudi: made on a whim.
Pusha: Theres just so much that comes along with the brand, as far as showing people that we can do what we want. There are no limitations.
John Legend: It starts with the name itself. We want to be known for quality. We want to be known for stuff that we all can be proud of. That creativity, that attention to detail, that quality controlthats what distinguishes us from other folks who might just be chasing a hit. Kanye picks artists who care about making great art. We all want to make money and do well, but we also want to make great art thats important and interesting.
Common: There was a moment in hip-hop when I went to SOBs and I saw Kanye perform before he came out with The College Dropout. The thing that amazed me was that the backpack crowd was there, and then there was the Roc-A-Fella crowd, dudes who were throwing up the Roc. I was like, Yes. It reminded me of when I grew up. There was nikkas who sold dope that was listening to Rakim and A Tribe Called Questand there wasnt no separation. They just liked it.
What this community does is connect these individuals. Theres somebody who may fukk with 2 Chainz and think, Aw, Commonhe be on that conscious shyt. But because were on a song together, theyre going to feel what I do and vice versa.
Cudi: With all due respect to what these guys said, I think were missing the main point, which is that we represent honesty, in all aspects. Aint nobody fake. Aint nobody phony. nikkas are who they are. Everybody is who they are around each other. Were real. Im not in other crews. I dont know how other nikkas live, but I know right here thats one of the main things we represent: honesty and realness. You can just hear it in the music. This aint no cookie-cutter shyt.
Many of you have done albums with other labels. Whats the difference when you put out a G.O.O.D. Music album?
Common: Yes perspective is Were going to make the purest music, and make it reach. There aint no limitations to where you can reach. So, like he said, its about quality.
Sean: Aint nobody perfect, you know what Im saying? But were probably the closest motherfukkers to it. [All laugh.]
Pusha, you worked closely with Pharrell on those first two Clipse records. How has it been putting together your solo album with Kanye?
Pusha: Ye has always got a million things going on, so once I got a great body of work done, I flew out to London and I played it for him in the middle of his clothing sweatshop. [Laughs.] We played it for four days straight. Hes like, Man, I love this. I dont like that. Im going to redo this beat.... Its the best thing in the world, because hes going to tear your shyt all the way down, and then build it back up. It doesnt get any better than that.
Youre all very talented, very different artists who make very different music.
Q-Tip: And the thing about Ye is hes able to see the common thread through everybody. Its good that nikkas see thatnikkas like us forming like this. Especially in rap music, you hear a lot of motherfukkers talk about getting their own shyt, in an individual sense. But everybody needs somebody, and what we represent is community.
What does it mean to have Kanye West involved in the production of your album?
Cudi: He knows what hes talking about. Its crazy how insanely smart he isits frustrating at times. When Im playing him stuff, he usually likes it. [Laughs.] But I remember there was a time when I played him something, and he was like, Turn it off. That was terrible.
We were in Hawaii, working on 808s & Heartbreak. That was when I first got on board, and I was doing hooks, and I was just trying to find my place. One day, I got to the studio early, and I was like, Im going to make a beat. Then he came in, and I was all excited to play it.... He made this face. I was like, Oh my God. I want to make sure he never feels like that about anything that I ever make again.
Common: He was the first producer that I had that was like, Man, change that verse. or Nah, that line is weak. Hell nah. [All laugh.]
Cudi: But thats what its about, man. And I didnt feel bad. I was like, OK, back to the drawing board. I bet that nikka wont say that again. I dont think hes shot down any song Ive played for him since.
Kanye is well-known for his ruthless pursuit of quality. He doesnt accept less than 100 percent from himself, and he certainly doesnt from those around him. Do you feel pressure?
Tip: I dont feel like that because, like you said, he understands what the talent isits on par with his. One thing that we all have in common, Kanye included, is that we all want to be great. We all have that drive. Kanye channels ithes the nucleus. But at the same time, its collaborative. Hes open to whatever it is. If theres pressure, its just to do outstanding shyt. And thats more of a drive than a pressure.
Cudi: Luckily, everybody has their own vision. No one is lost. A lot of artists get lost. They drop an album, and then they go fukking blank. But everybody here sees their career 10 years from now. I dont think anybody is seeing their career year to year, like a motherfukker working check to check. Everyone has their own vision, so theres no pressure.
John Legend: There have been plenty of artists signed to artists labels that havent had nearly the kind of success as the head of the label. Even with G.O.O.D. Music we have artists that have done very well, and weve had artists that havent. Being attached to Kanye is only going to get you so far. Youve still got to have the records, the talent, and the artistry to carry it on your own.
Common: If youre forming a business, you go get people that can do their jobs well, and you dont have to micromanage them. Like Cudi was saying, we all have a vision of our creativity for years to come. This is going to sound crazy, but its something to think aboutBig Sean might have been 2 years old when my first album came out.
Sean: Yeah. My homie put me on, though.
Tip: He wasnt even born when my first album came out. [Laughs.] Damn.
Thats crazy.
Common: To have that energy circulating, thats beautiful. When you saw crews, you always knew the weaker links in the crew. At certain times, youd be like, Aw, man. Here comes such-and-such. [All laugh.]
Sean: Thats true as hell.
Common: But man, if you get together with some cats that already got it going, then its like, Yeah! Here comes such-and-such on the mic! Thats what we bring.
Sean: These guys are legends. And I definitely feel like Cudi feels: I see myself in 10 yearsI know exactly where I want to be. But thats something that I recently came into. When I met Kanye, I was 17 years old. I would be nervous around him. He was my idol. So, for a couple years, I didnt know what I was doing. If you listen to a lot of my early mixtapes, youll see I was rapping like Kanye because I didnt have my own identity. Now, Ive got my own ad-libs, my own wittiness.
I realized that I was sitting next to Common, sitting next to Jay-Z, sitting next to Kanye for a reason. I stepped up, got my mind together, and visualized how I wanted to be as an artist. Thats something that I dont even think comes with age. It comes when youre ready for your life to change. I got tired of living in that two-family flat with my mom. I got tired of being in the same room I grew up in my whole life. So it was like, This has to work.
I knew I could be the greatest. I was listening to Jay. I was listening to Wayne. I was like, Man, I can do that. I could do it better than them. Seriously. I feel like Im going to be a legend. But it wasnt always like that. There was a point where I was insecure. I would be out in Hawaii, and I was intimidated being around Cudi. We got signed around the same time...
Cudi: I was poor when you got signed, dude. [Laughs.]
Sean: He was so sure of himself as an artist. He was carefree, and I learned a lot from just looking at him. My live show got better watching Cudi. Even meeting up with Common, how he wrote his raps, I stopped writing my raps on paper. I just write them in my head. Thats all stuff that comes from being around people like him, being around Ye, and its something that you aint got to be scared of. I come from Detroitit raised some of the realest players ever. Thats what I embody. I represent my city, my generation, young people dreaming. I used to ride to school listening to Kanye, was in the crowd looking at Jay-Z, and now these fools are saying, Hey, I believe in you. Its real. I just bought my mom a new car. She was happy as hell. She was leaning on it, taking pictures. Now, shes house shopping. This is what it was all for.
Speaking of which, 2 Chainz, youre charging a hundred a verse?
2 Chainz: [Laughs.]
How much to answer questions?
2 Chainz: A thousand a line.
Can you tell me what the nature of your relationship with G.O.O.D. is?
2 Chainz: Im not officially signed, paperwork-wise, to G.O.O.D. Music. But I have a great rapport with Ye. He called me before Watch the Throne came out. Im an only child. Ive got trust issues. So I dont have a best friend, a brother, sisternothing. Stuff was happening in my life that I couldnt tell nobody. I didnt have anybody in my life that I could tell, like, Ye just called me.
Ive talked to Ye 1,000 times about trying to make this situation work for the both of us, so it wont feel like anyone is getting used or anything. Im in a position in life where I like talking about things like that. I came from a situation with DTP, being under Luda, where I got a phobia. Sometimes when an artist signs another artist, theyre so worried about themselves. And with Ye, he helps everybody.
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