October | 2007 | Amalgam Digital Blog

Smif-N-Wessun Keep It Movin’ Artist: Smif N Wessun Interviewer: Monty Python

Smif-N-Wessun Keep It Movin’

Interviewed By Monty Python 10-26-2007

AmalgamDigital.com: Smif-N-Wessun is back! What’s been going on since the last album and what can the fans expect on the new joint?

Smif-N-Wessun: Oh man since the triple threat reloaded we’ve been in the lab man… in the gym hittin the weights, hittin the treadmill joint… just doin it you know? Making sure it’s a dope album for the fans to enjoy to and still keeping all the griminess for you to listen to.

AmalgamDigital.com: You’ve been a part of the Boot Camp Click since jump. Most crews don’t last more than a couple of years before falling apart. What is it about the BCC that creates such loyalty amongst the soldiers? Do you ever feel confined by being a part of a large crew?

Smif-N-Wessun: Nah it’s no confinement. It’s family first. With a lot of group and acts people don’t understand that it’s put together. This was family and friends before music. We were already together havin each others back and front that’s what kept us strong and together.

AmalgamDigital.com: Smif-N-Wessun is known for killing the back and forths on your verses. Being able to pull this off this style so effortlessly takes a lot of chemistry. How long have you two been kicking it for and how long did it take you to develop this style?

Smif-N-Wessun: Oh man truthfully that style was just given to us as a gift from the most high. He didn’t even know it. We were born with this style. We bump heads; we don’t agree with everything but we’ve been friends forever. We used to always chill… after school we used to go into the crib and make music have fun. We had one turntable and we’d rap over other peoples beats.

AmalgamDigital.com: The BCC is known for touring the world over and doing the damn thing. What’s your favorite city to breeze through for a couple of days? What’s the craziest shit you’ve seen on tour, and most importantly, what region has the best shorties?

Smif-N-Wessun: There’s beautiful women everywhere! We’ve seen countless amount of shit man… niggas getting their heads split open… niggas getting head before and after the show… bitches throwin panties on stage flashin titties… you might see me scuba dive into the crowd! For you smokers out there you gotta put Amsterdam on your resume… Canada’s got it too… but Amsterdam, that’s the spot baby!

AmalgamDigital.com: Obviously the crew works close together, but who can we expect to hear from on the new album? Also, do you plan to do any outside collaboration on this time around?

Smif-N-Wessun: I mean we got a few… a real real few. Most of those are just added on as a chorus or harmonizing on the background. We got our man Joell Ortiz, Rockness from Heltah Skeltah, Loudmouf Choir and a couple others.

AmalgamDigital.com: The industry is rough. Labels and artists never get along and these days you can’t put two different crews in the same room without some beef. How have Smif-N-Wessun and the BCC managed to avoid this throughout the years?

Smif-N-Wessun: We don’t get involved in that bullshit! You won’t hear me on the radio talking about what I’m gonna do to ya! We keep it 100% official and make it happen for us. We keep it 100% independent and make it happen for us and our families and do it right.

AmalgamDigital.com: Who’s the craziest member of Boot Camp Click?

Smif-N-Wessun: Hands down Sean P! He’s stupid! If he don’t take his medicine we might lose him!

AmalgamDigital.com: If you couldn’t make music for a living, what would you do?

Smif-N-Wessun: If we couldn’t make music for a living? It’d have to be made some type of way… engineering, sports management. There’s so many ways man, we’re not limited, we’re not boxed in.

AmalgamDigital.com: What’s the worst thing about being a professional rapper?

Smif-N-Wessun: You already stigmatized. Already expected to be one way… people might think you’re a whore… you already labeled. You gotta get outta that lane and do your own thing.

AmalgamDigital.com: What’s the best thing about being a professional rapper?

Smif-N-Wessun: Oh man! The bitches man! The bitches!!!!!!! Nah it got its perks… you get a lotta free shit! A lotta free shit! You get pulled over sometimes you can keep it moving! You can eat free, you can cut the lines at the movies! You can get your paperwork pushed up at the courts and get out before the end of the night! Oh yeah the album is definitely in stores now. Duck Down is still doin its thing. Number 1 independent movement in the world! Check us out on the net at www.myspace.com/bootcampclik, www.myspace.com/smifnwessun, and www.Bucktownusa.tv.

Streets Wanna Know Artist: Hell Rell Interviewer: Ritz Carlton

Hell Rell: Streets Wanna Know

Interviewed by Ritz Carlton 10-22-07

Amalgam Digital: What’s good with the new album?

Hell Rell: Oh man its hardbody its serious the hardest street album of ALL TIME. Real raw street shit. You can expect guest appearances from Young Dro and my nigga Styles P from D Block

Amalgam Digital: You were doing a bid while the Dip Set as a collective was really starting to blow. What were your thoughts when you were locked up and Diplomatic Immunity was the hottest CD out? Did you think your cameos from the pay phone were going to be as big as they were?

Hell Rell: Oh man my cameo made my career. So at the end of the day was like oh man I ain’t there to do the shows and go on tour… I ain’t there to reap the benefits… it was kinda hard. It was tough to watch them blowing up while I was locked down.

Amalgam Digital: How much of Killa Season was acting and how much of it was you being yourself? When’s Killa Season 2 gonna hit the streets?

Hell Rell: I mean the whole movie was me bein myself I’d like to thank Cam for the op to be an actor. I been getting a lotta calls from Hollywood so look out for me. I’ma have a second career poppin as an actor. Killa Season 2 is gonna pop off mid ‘08.

Amalgam Digital: I hear a lot about you today- a hustler from the Bronx doing your thing in the rap game. What was your childhood like though? Hell Rell’s a pretty tough name, what type of shit were you doing to get that handle?

Hell Rell: Oh man it was typical upbringing no father, mother on drugs one sister one brother. I had to raise myself as a man… my mother did what she could do. I was really on my own after a certain point and did what I had to do to raise myself as a man. I got the nicename Hell Rell when I was in Elmira stuck in a cell with no windows…a small ass cell by myself and I was like, “Damn Rell, you in hell right now.” From there the name just stuck.

Amalgam Digital: Allright a big part of Dip Set is the flashy fashions and jewelry. What type of shit are you into these days brand wise? What’s gonna be the next shit with the chains and watches?

Hell Rell: Oh I like demin… a lotta Caveniti jeans… I don’t got no set jeweler I just run up in spots and look for something new. I’m always on the look out for some new shit.

Amalgam Digital: So one of your nicknames is Ruga Rell… what is your favorite gun? Do you keep a armory or just enough shit around for when times get tight?

Hell Rell: Oh man I keep that ruger on deck man every trip. I used to go deer hunting. I don’t go to the shooting range though. My backyard is the shooting range. I keep that ruger on me man.

Amalgam Digital: Heads wanna know- what’s going on with the Dip Set? Is the situation between Cam and Jim as bad as the media is making it out? Could a rift just be credited to growing pains or is there something bigger going on? Or is it nothing at all?

Hell Rell: It’s a lot of the media blowin it up but at the same time it is what it is. Just wait to see what happens. Growing pains man. But we’re all a family at the end of the day it’s Dip Set for life. We have our differences like anyone else man. Jimmy’s just getting a little more money than he’s used to and he don’t know how to act.

Amalgam Digital: If you have beef with another rapper would you rather settle it on the mic or get in the ring and knock someone the fuck out?

Hell Rell: I’d rather do both. Nah mean I’m a fighter. I’d rather fight it out and rap it out. I’m just gonna lyrically assassinate you. KRS One and MC Shan was battling Ice-T and Kool Moe Dee were battling. I think 2pac started dis records. 2pac getting real personal on BIG to me was when the battle records stopped and the dis records really began.

Amalgam Digital: Cam and Jim have always been known for having crazy business sense- opening side businesses and having executive positions at major labels. Are you planning to branch off into any other shit to get money?

Hell Rell: Yes sir I’m opening up Ruger’s Rib shack… the waitresses are gonna run around with holsters.. like gun for the notepads with a drink named after every Dip Set member and a meal named after each member. We’re gonna have Juelz Santana Shrimp Scampi Scouting a location as we speak. But I don’t wanna say too much about that yet and spoil it.

Amalgam Digital: What do you want people to know about you that no one ever asks?

Hell Rell: Oh man I don’t know man… that I’m a real nigga! Theres a lotta fake niggas outta here. A lotta niggas give to the industry. You can holla at me, I’m a real nigga… I’ll pull you in VIP get you drunk give you a couple dollars.. I’m a real nigga. We can hang out holla at me.

Shout out to Killa Cam the boss the real head honcho the nigga who started all this shit!!!

Get you copy of Hell Rell – Eat With Me Or Eat A Box Of Bullets at AmalgamDigital for only $8.99!!!!!

In Focus With Alexander Richter Artist: Alexander Richter Interviewer: Ritz Carlton

In Focus With Alexander Richter

Interviewed by Ritz Carlton 10-01-07

AmalgamDigital.com: I read that you started off originally as a documentary film maker. In looking at your photos, they have almost a film like quality to them; there’s a lot of movement and energy in your prints. Do you think that your film background has influenced the way you take photos and your mentality towards still shots?

Alexander Richter: Definitely. I don’t think it’s something that I am consciously aware of but more so something that is just part of me. I take time when I work, and focus my attention on detail(s). I have always loved movies so it is only natural that I attempt to make my photographs have some sort of cinematic quality.

AmalgamDigital.com: What motivates you to be a photographer? Are there times when you want to throw in the towel and find a more traditional career path?

Alexander Richter: My motivation is the world around me. I am influenced by my family, friends, music, and travel just to name a few. I refuse to limit myself to one thing and as a result my body of work has a little bit of everything in it. As far as “throwing in the towel” goes I have to say no. I work a day job which provides the bread & butter when photography is slow. I look forward to the days when I have enough stable business that I can leave the day job behind and focus solely on my photography. As it is now I work during the day and then come home to work on my photography at night. Like Nas said “I Never sleep, Cause sleep is the cousin of death.”

AmalgamDigital.com: I feel that a lot of videos and photo shoots end up portraying all the negative stereotypes associated with hip hop. Your photos succeed in that they capture the artist and give you sense of who they are without objectifying them. Is this something that you do intentionally? What do you think about the photos of artists you see every month in hip hop publications like XXL and the Source?

Alexander Richter: I can’t really speak on what other photographers or video directors do, but when it comes to my work I can say that the most important thing for me is to make a photo that honestly captures the person that I am photographing. I think that it is imperative that I connect with the person who I am photographing otherwise the lack of communication will be evident in my photograph. Photography as you know is 50 / 50. It is extremely hard to make a fantastic photo if your subject is just looking like a dead animal and so it is essential that I connect with them on some sort of personal level so that we can make this photo together. As for the the photography that appears in hip hop publications like XXL or The Source it can be hit or miss. For every great photograph that I see in one of those magazines I see another and think to myself that I could have done it better.

AmalgamDigital.com: What’s the worst experience you’ve had on a shoot?

Alexander Richter: Fortunately I have not really had one yet aside from your typical glitches that happen like being lied to by PR people, artists being late, and, or forgetting some essential piece of gear. But in the end I still manage to work things out so I feel pretty happy that nothing disastrous has happened and I hope that it doesn’t.

AmalgamDigital.com: How do you know when a shoot is complete and your work is done?

Alexander Richter: It’s hard to say. Often times the shoots come to a close because the artist and myself are on a time line so we only have so much time to make things happen, otherwise there are plenty of shoots that I would have liked to have more time with. As a result I have to work as hard as can for the time that I have and put all my energy into making those photographs. Even after the photo shoot is done I still find myself thinking ” I could have done it like this, or I could have changed the lighting,etc..” I am a very harsh critic of my work so I always feel like I could be doing more or I could have done something different.

AmalgamDigital.com: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Alexander Richter: Drinking a cold caipirinha in Brazil with my girl (laughs). In addition to that hopefully 10 years from now I will have secured my position in the photography world. I want to contribute to a photographic legacy. Hopefully in 10 years time when people are thinking about amazing photographers my name will get placed in the mix.

AmalgamDigital.com: You’ve worked with a range of artists from Pharoahe Monch to the Juggaknots to the Clipse. What do you do in preparation for each shoot? Do you have an objective when you pick up the camera? Do you shoot with the intention to communicate who the artist is through your photos?

Alexander Richter: It all depends on who I am photographing. If I am going to photograph someone who is quite famous then I do some research on them. I look around the web and print magazines to see what other photographers have done so that I don’t repeat something. I also like to find things out about the person so that I can connect with them. I also have a little note book that I keep with me in which I sketch out ideas on how to potentially pose the people, different light set up’s, and random other notes about the subject or job. As I mentioned earlier the most important thing for me is to portray the artist in an honest fashion, so yes I do make a conscious effort to communicate who the artists is. At least communicate who that artists was during our time together.

AmalgamDigital.com: Everything seems to be going digital- from film and music sales to photography. What’s your take on the digital revolution?

Alexander Richter: I am fine with it. I started out with a 35mm and a medium format camera but now I also use a digital slr. I love shooting film but if you are on a job and don’t have an extra pair of hands around shooting film can be a bit slow. Where as with the digital format I can have a couple 4 gig memory card’s and bang out close to 300 photos per card. When you think about 12 photo’s per roll of 120 medium format film you can’t help but see the advantages of the digital age. This being said if I could get my clients to budget for film I would prefer to shoot film. In the mean time I stay shooting film but more so these days for my own personal archives.

AmalgamDigital.com: If you could photograph any person on earth, who would it be and why?

Alexander Richter: Hmmm. At this very moment on a Thursday morning I would have to say Rick Rubin. Not only does Rick have some serious clout in the hip hop world, but he has also been the go to guy for some of rock n roll’s greats. I just recently read an article on him in the New York Times and I feel like he has some crazy stuff going on in his head. He has been taste maker for the last 20 some odd years and his influence on American Culture has been tremendous.

AmalgamDigital.com: What would you say is your biggest motivator and your biggest inspiration?

Alexander Richter: My biggest inspiration is the world around me. I love life, and I am

continuously trying to capture this energy in camera. Obviously as a photographer there are other photographers out there who inspire me and so people like Bruce Davidson, Jonathan Mannion, Sabastio Salgado, Nigel Perry, Piotr Sikora, Chris Buck, Bettina Rheims, Lee Friedlander, and others whose exceptional photographs challenge me to step up my game and create the most honest, and original photography that I can.

To see more of Alexander Richter’s work please visit:

http://www.alexanderrichterphoto.com