If you are a hip hop head, you’d have to know the pioneers of the genre. Whether that’s the mainstream pioneers or the underground heavy hitters, you have to know that history. I had the pleasure of talking to two underground lyrical geniuses, Planet Asia and TriState. Originally from the hip hop groups Gold Chain Military and Durag Dynasty, this dynamic duo have gained much respect and supporters from their hometowns and all over the world. Collectively, the members of Durag Dynasty have worked on projects with the likes of Wu-Tang, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes and many more. Hip hop producer Alchemist speak highly of Planet Asia and TriState, calling them both “word wizards.”
In this interview, I talked to Planet Asia and TriState about their upcoming projects, the state of hip hop and how their careers and lives have CHANGED over the years.
Read what they had to say and what advice they would give to the younger generation.
Let’s jump right into the interview. What’s the story behind forming Durag Dynasty?
Planet Asia: I met TriState through the other artist in our group by the name of Killer Ben. I invented the name Durag Dynasty. It was a saying that I had at the beginning of a song I did with Raekwon. I was just bullshytting at the beginning of the song and it was like a inside joke and then we when started the group we didn’t have no name, so we just left it as Durag Dynasty.
So both of you guys have an extensive career thus far. How has Planet Asia and TriState changed or evolved as artists and men?
TriState: Being that the [industry] is very competitive, especially over the course of the years, our relationship kind of push us to better ourselves as artists and as men too. It’s fun with us, but we still look at it as a competition. It’s a competitive sport. So as far as crafting lyrics, I try my best to be creative as possible because I know what Planet Asia is going to bring to the table and what Killer Ben going to do and the rest of the Gold Chain Military. The whole crew is up to par with their penmanship.
What’s your thoughts ofthe current state of hip hop?
Planet Asia: It is what it is. It never CHANGED . I think as far as corporate goes, they are going to try to make as much money off it as necessary. The cats that are doing hip hop for the love of it, will always be here. At this point, we run rap now. There’s no one better. Other guys might rap good, but they don’t have magic. We got voodoo. We are immortal over here. We never die. Those other dudes rap regular to us.
TriState: I know this might sound crazy or cliche, but it’s a lifestyle to us. We incorporate hip hop in our daily lives. It’s what we eat, like the people we deal with, everything. It’s all a part of the whole movement. It’s a package. It’s not just raps. We’re serious when we say keep the swine away from us.
Planet Asia: That’s not some rap shyt. That’s how we live. We don’t mess with people that eat pork. We’re not no swine dudes; we’re not vegans either (laughs). You’re not going to find guys like us in music. It’s trendy right now to call yourself a ‘God.’ But they don’t know the history or the science behind that. That’s why it’s cool for a Jay Electronica. We might not be as big as everybody else, but we are the sacrificial lambs to make that shyt cool. We were the first to do it. We were saying this in public and really living it. You can go back to the Gold Chain Military first album, that’s back in 2009, and we were talking about Black Islam rap. Now it’s cool to sound like that. It wasn’t cool when we were doing it, but now it is. [Dudes] were wearing platinum chains, while we were wearing gold. Now everybody want to wear gold now.
What advice would you give to the younger generations of hip hop artists?
Planet Asia: I teach in my community. I teach the youth. I would first say that in order to have a goldmine, you have to have a gold mind. To have a gold mind you have to have education. The youth have to educate themselves. Reading is a must. Reading is power. Reading is a must. Reading is power. Knowledge is food.
TriState: And it’s easier to get knowledge since we live in a digital era. Even if you say you can afford a book, you can go the library and just read a book there or use the COMPUTERS AT
the library. It’s easier to do research, when everything is online.Planet Asia: To add on to that, if you don’t know the knowledge, it’s because you don’t want to know. Information is at the tip of your hands. No more excuses. Black people can’t say the white man is keeping knowledge another from them. Our ancestors were stripped away from getting knowledge.
It’s 2015 and the opportunities are out there. I heard that you are working on new projects. Talk more about that.
Planet Asia: I have a project coming out in March. The whole Gold Chain will be working on [new music]. We’re going to be real active this year.
TriState: As far as Durag Dynasty, we have a two-part EP that we’ll be releasing sometime soon. Probably the middle of February or the end of February. The second part will drop around the summer time. That’s called Extended Capes We have PRODUCTIONS by Alchemist and including Dirty Diggs, Minus One and several different producers on this project. I have a solo project that I’m working on and it’s about 95% done. That project is called Three Dimensional Descriptions. I’ll be giving that to the world soon. Any last words you would like to share?
Tristate: Make sure you bring us to your city ASAP, so we can touch the people. Gold Chain Miltary, Durag Dynasty.
Planet Asia: The Gods are back! Gold Chain Military is here. We are here to spread the knowledge and make [conscious] rap COOL and fly.
TriState: Knowledge is external and internal. Internal is where the knowledge is at and external is how we represent it.
Planet Asia: One love! Shout out to all the human families on the planet earth. Peace to everybody.
Planet Asia: https://twitter.com/planetasia
Instagram: http://instagram.com/planetasiamedallions
TriState: https://twitter.com/iamtristate
Instagram: http://instagram.com/iamtristate
Source: http://limerencemag.com/2015/02/int...tristate-talks-hip-hop-forming-durag-dynasty/
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