Interview with Cormega

Like life, the rap game is not fair.

Legends like 2pac, Biggie, Big L, Big Pun and  Eazy-E die over bullshit, far from reaching full potential, while unique talents and potential game changers like Lil Boosie and Max B waste away in prison.

One can only speculate what Cormega’s role had been among his peers during that golden age of New York hiphop, had he recorded and released music instead of being locked away in prison between the years 1992 and 1997.

This interview took place in Stockholm, the day after his show in early may this year. A shorter version was published in the Swedish union paper Arbetaren. This is the uncut interview.

Shouts to Ricardo and Hugo. Questions by @brytburken and @alabama187.

“Is the Mega Philosophy album going to be entirely produced by Large Professor?

Yeah, all the way through. Batman and Robin.

Is Large Professor rhyming on it?

He really doesn’t want to, but I might get him to rhyme. I was considering using a remix that we did two years ago, but I want everything to be new.

Can you tell us about the other guests?

There’s a song with me and Nature. There’s a song with me and M.A.R.S., but not the M.A.R.S. you have heard. I won’t say it in an interview, just keep it as a surprise. A new constellation! There’s another song with Saigon rapping on it, but it’s not finished, because I’m going to reach out to a few other people to get on the song. It’s a song about the struggles in America, how America treats the minorities; the black people, the Latin people. We’re talking about how we’re different from how they stereotype us. Saigon did a verse, and I’ll try to get a legend from the nineties or the eighties. I’d love to have Chuck D talk on there, or somebody of that caliber. Right now that’s up in the air. That’s not solidified. I don’t want it to be a bunch of guest appearances, because you know how Cormega albums are; I like to carry them on my own.

You thought of bringing some Latin rapper on there?

Last year I did a song with Pun’s son, and he’s Latin as we all know. Did you ever hear the Legal Hustle album? Do you remember Doña? She’s Puerto Rican. I take artists and producers as they are. I don’t care what you are. If you’re Chinese, white, black, purple, I don’t care. I work with whoever. If it’s dope, it’s dope. I don’t work with people by their resume either. A lot of artists in America fuck up because they work with you by your resume. In other words, they’re going to take your track just because you’re a hot producer, even thought the track you give them might be bullshit. They’re so happy just to have a track from you, to have your name on their project. I don’t do that shit. If you’re a hot producer but the track you give me is wack, I’m not going to use it.

Has Doña stopped doing music?

She had a baby a few years ago. She just needs to get focused. I told her: when you’re ready, write a song explaining to the people where you was, and what happened, and we’ll take it from there.

She was raw.

Yeah, she was very raw.

On the subject of Latin rappers… you knew Big Pun?

You never heard that song we have together? Pun was my guy. He was a good dude. I was in Pun’s biggest video, Still Not A Player. I did a lot of shows with him. We did shows together in Riker’s Island for the inmates. We did shows out of town together. Pun was a good dude. He was a real MC. I don’t just mean that he was talented. A real MC is excited about rhymes. He’ll see you, and he wants to do a cypher, or hear some shit. He was a good dude. I’m glad I knew him.

How is it going with Legal Hustle 2?

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