Serge Fleury
When some artists are involved in a group setting, and then venture out into the solo the realm, they don’t always find the positive results as a headliner they once had when they were sharing the spotlight.
Luckily for Sean “Ruck” Price of Heltah Skeltah, he doesn’t have that problem.
The Hip-Hop veteran and Boot Camp Clik general has found an ample amount of success on both sides of the coin.
Either sharing the MC duties with his partner in rhyme, Rock, or doing it on his own with albums like Monkey Barz and Jesus Price Superstar, Sean P has been able to maintain a level a of consistency that rivals those who happen to be a broader scale than the native from Brooklyn.
Taking the “Hardest working person in showbiz” approach, the man known for his uncanny way with words and massive lyrical appetite is back up to bat, but this time it comes in the form of his Kimbo Price mix-CD, his third studio album in Mic Tyson, and last but not least; the Random Axe project with Black Milk and Guilty Simpson. So here to talk about everything Duck Down amongst other topics is none other than the man himself, “Sean PPPPP…”
iHipHop.com: Right now you have the Kimbo Price mix-CD making the rounds, which is a set up for your Mic Tyson album… Then you have the Random Axe project with Black Milk and Guilty Simpson. So did you approach everything differently, or with the same mind set?
Sean Price: “Sean Price” rhymes the “Sean Price” rhymes… One thing that Rock does that bothers me, but it really doesn’t, because that’s the way he works: He’ll have a bunch of rhymes, and he’ll be like, “Nah, I can’t do these, these are for Heltah Skeltah.”
I don’t know how to do that sh*t, you know what I mean? So I write a rhyme, and it goes on whatever… I approach everything the same…
iHipHop.com: [Laughs]… So you don’t save rhymes?
Sean Price: Rock writes rhymes like, “This is for me, that verse was crazy!” “This is for Heltah Skeltah.” I can’t do that sh*t…
iHipHop.com: [Laughing]… How long did it take you to put the Kimbo Price project together? Was this something you had in the making for a while?
Sean Price: We had it done for a minute, but I do the same thing for every album and for every mixtape: I do it, then I pass it into Dru [Ha], and Dru [Ha] lets me know if it’s good to go, and the he gives it a release date… I ain’t mad at it either, because it works… Dru Ha, and the Duck Down staff is good with that…
iHipHop.com: Are you still in the midst of taking over Duck Down?
Sean Price: Right now I got Ruck Down… Duck Down is Dru Ha and Buckshot’s label, and Ruck Down is Dru Ha’s label and me…
iHipHop.com: I was watching that Sean Price Is Right video you made at the grocery store [Click to watch] , so did you pick up your free turkey yet? [Laughs]
Sean Price: Actually no… Yesterday was the last day; I missed it… I had no room in the refrigerator…
iHipHop.com: [Laughing]… When you dropped Jesus Price Superstar in ’07, it was the first album to chart since ’99. So did you go in to Mic Tyson with added pressure to do just as well?
Sean Price: I think we had an album chart before that, but I think more people started noticing more when mine came out… I think we had something else that charted, but they didn’t pay us no damn mind until Jesus [Price Superstar]…
But I don’t care about that, and I don’t listen to that, I just do what I do… If I listen to people, I don’t know what I’d do… I have a team and a circle of trust that I deal with, and that’s it… Everything else is irrelevant to me…
iHipHop.com: Whom did you work with production-wise on the Mic Tyson album?
Sean Price: We’re still working on it, but I got my man Alchemist, Sid Roams, 9th Wonder, and I got some others… But we’ll see… I got a call from Sean C, so we’ll see how that goes…
Plus there are a few other dudes that wanted to work with “Sean Price,” so we’ll see what happens…
iHipHop.com: How did the idea of Random Axe with Guilty Simpson and Black Milk first come into play?
Sean Price: I was familiar with [Black] Milk, as far as production and songs… But I never heard of Guilty [Simpson], and my man called me to ask if I would do a song with Guilty Simpson… So with me being the rap whore that I am, I was like “F*ck it, lets do it.”
Then when I hung up the phone, I was like, “Who’s Guilty Simpson?!” I was on tour with Edo G, and the driver of our tour bus was like, “I got some Guilty Simpson,” and he played every Guilty Simpson record he had…
Then I was like, “Damn, I don’t want to do a song with him, I want to do a whole album.” So he called back, and he was with it, but he still wanted the song for his album though… Then we started working on the album…
iHipHop.com: So how has the chemistry been like between you all?
Sean Price: Black [Milk] is like my brother; we’re not even like friends… That’s family right there… I love Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, and my man Hex Murda… I love them dudes…
ipHipHop.com: I want to go back to how you mentioned being on tour… With you being in the game for so song, doesn’t the touring ever get exhausting and tiresome?
Sean Price: All the time… I just make sure I do the show, drink enough tea, and have enough lemon and water so my voice can be right… Plus I get the proper rest, so everything works out…
iHipHop.com: No drinking at the shows, or none of that?
Sean Price: Nah… I don’t even have alcohol in my writer… I just have two white t-shirts, cause I sweat on stage, tea, lemon, and honey… No alcohol, and no pork platters…
iHipHop.com: So you’re more health conscious now?
Sean Price: I was tired of getting fat; I just lost about 30 pounds… I’m feeling good… I have another friend that I grew up with, and he almost had a heart attack, I was like, “This is crazy man.” I don’t even eat crazy, but I had to really take care of myself…
iHipHop.com: Last year, you teamed back up with Rock for Heltah Skeltah’s D.I.R.T. album… Were you happy with the response it got, since you guys hadn’t dropped an album ten years prior to that?
Sean Price: Yeah, but we always been cool… It wasn’t like we just got back together or nothing like that… That’s my man, and his mom and my mom were peoples…
I can never let a rap thing break up the friendship; he’s family… He walks in my house, and opens up my refrigerator; you know what I mean? That’s beyond friends; you feel me?
iHipHop.com: Then the world can expect more Heltah Skeltah projects?
Sean Price: Of course… That wasn’t “one and done,” we’re Heltah Skeltah for life…
iHipHop.com: So you’re not just about doing your solo thing?
Sean Price: I’m going to do my solo thing, but I’m still “Heltah Skeltah,” because that’s where I started…
iHipHop.com: How do you feel about your place in the game? Do you feel like you don’t get the respect you deserve? Do you feel underrated?
Sean Price: Yes… To all of that… [Laughing]… I think I get the respect I deserve, but I do feel underrated… But I feel like it’s warming up right now… It’s a work in progress, so I’m not mad… I’m ready to put the work in and prove it…
iHipHop.com: What keeps you going? Some people are in the game for a while, and you can notice their material falling off, but not you… What’s the secret?
Sean Price: I have no idea… I just write; you know? You ever watch that movie Finding Forrester?
iHipHop.com: Yeah…
Sean Price: I take the Finding Forrester approach… Remember when the guy was like, “How do you write so well?” And he was like, “I just write.” “Your first draft so have no thought; just go.” I took that from the movie, and I tried it, and it works…
iHipHop.com: Do you have a timetable of how much longer you want to be in the game before you take more of a behind-the-scenes executive role?
Sean Price: I don’t like rappers, so I don’t want to be in charge of them… I’m anti-social too, and I have a bad temper…
Big ups to Dru Ha and Buckshot for putting up with me, but I wouldn’t want to put up with another “Sean Price,” so I don’t even want to be an executive like that; you know what I mean?
Even with this Ruck Down thing… It’s a good title, but I’m not sure if I really want to do it, because it’s a headache…
it is going to be a good compilation of great songs. i think they could be a successful partner indeed. but things will need to get a long way before you’ll get there.
what could have been the effect when he can manage his self out of the shadows of her performer group. it is always you who will bring your name up and would not depend to anyone else.
he kind of dwell in good lyrics so he most likely get that fame he wanted to have even going solo. he’s been an artist a long time and i know he knows what he is capable of in doing songs.
Sean price is quite a good rapper for me. I’ve been listening to his music since it was being aired. “One” is one of my favorite song. I love how he deliver the words and how do freestyle. He’s cool.
I’ll wait for it, I’m not really into sean price but I like his songs. Hope it won’t let me down. pretty interesting lyrics though.