INDISTR 10! Interview with Dirty Water!!!

We were first contacted by Dirty Water a month ago or so, and ever since we've been fans. These guys are hard working and will definitely be having a full plate in 2008. Though meeting in college at North Carolina Central University, they happen to reside in Washington DC and are making serious moves and gaining day by day in exposure. Check it. Oh yeah, and after you check it, go support them directly by buying some of their music!!!!





1.Let’s start from the beginning, when and where did it all start? And with who?
CCB: It all started back in college (North Carolina Central University). I used to date his wife’s roommate and she used to always tell me I needed to meet him since we were both into hip hop. I didn’t meet Joe until my junior year though. We both ended up in this go-go band as front-line vocalists. I didn’t know anybody in the band but the drummer, Winslow, and the manager, Jeff. The first meeting was at Joe’s apartment in Duke Villa. We immediately clicked. He started playing his beats for me. They were all dope. Way doper than I thought they’d be. We traded a few rhymes back and forth. I was shocked. Dude had dope beats and dope rhymes. I think we might have done our first track together that day, I’m not sure. Back then he would play the beat and we would record all the vocals live, in one take! We didn’t even have a four track. We had like an album’s worth of songs on cassette tapes after a year or so. The rest is literally history.

2.If you had to describe your sound in one sentence, what would you say?
We create songs, not just beats and rhymes, that consist of elements from pure basement Hip Hop to lighthearted fun with a willingness to stretch out and do things differently.

3.Name 3 artists that have inspired you as a group.
CCB: Michael Jackson, Prince and Run DMC

4.What do you see in the future for music, with all of the outlets available for exposure, along with the current Internet craze?
CCB: And as far as the Internet, I don’t know. It just seems like a big riot to me. It’s hard to get noticed in a riot. I miss the good old days. I actually like going to the record store.

5.What can we expect to see from Dirty Water in 2008? Any big plans?
CCB: Another album, definitely. Also, Joe’s been working like a dog on his first solo project Preacherman. I was just over his house a few days ago. He played me some stuff. All I can say is watch out. Hip hop hasn’t seen anything like this in a while. I put my man up there with all the greats: Primo, Pete, RZA, Dre, Kanye, Pharrell. My man holds his own. He’s a genius. I also have another solo joint coming out this year, The Fear in the Dog, which Joe produced. So this year is actually going to be pretty big.

6.What has Dirty Water been listening to lately?
CCB: I just bought Prince’s Rainbow Children and the Beastie Boys Check Your Head. Those were both albums I slept on, so I had to go back and get them. I just took Lupe’s new joint out. It had been in the deck for like three weeks strong. He’s amazing. It’s been a while since I heard an emcee that made me want to sharpen my sword. Also, the new Wu rocks pretty hard. I don’t know what the hell Rae is talking about. And this morning I drove to work rocking that old Vaudeville Villain joint. Classic! Where is Doom anyway?

7.Your thoughts on independent music and if it’s possible to be successful through these means of distribution?
CCB: I think that artists are going to have to go back to making music because they love to make music and they want the world to hear it. Everybody’s panicking because rap record sales have plummeted over the past couple of years. I personally think it’s a good thing. All that money was messing the game up. Now everybody wants to be a rapper, like how everybody used to want to play for the NBA or the NFL. But just like everybody ain’t cut out for pro sports, everybody ain’t cut out for emceeing. Only with the commercialization of hip hop, they made it so you could take any bum off the streets and put a dope behind him and everybody makes a million dollars. Now that the money’s gone, we can bring the love and the passion back. It’s a blessing in disguise. Prepare to hear some truly inspired hip hop on the independent scene over the next few years.

8.If we can’t find you playing a gig or practicing music, where might we expect to find you?
CCB: Probably with my daughter at the book store or the park or something. If not that, at the bar, knocking back good scotch and flirting with women.

9.How many shows do you play a year? What’s the atmosphere typically like?
CCB: Not as many as we’d like to. DC is a go-go town. It’s hard to get people to buy into our brand of hip hop. But when we do rock shows it’s always a peaceful, uplifting vibe.

10. Lastly, your thoughts on INDISTR.COM?
CCB: More power to you. It’s always good to see people still taking an interest in truly independent artists. I wish you much success in the future. Don’t forget about us when you get big.