" Live From The Windy City "

Yeah...... As you could have guessed, I'm still cold chilling in Chicago (that explains the lack of updates )....While in search for the perfect beat in the "city of wind" I ran into my beat digging evil twin Big Mattlock.....

Years ago (while on another vinyl mission) I met him while he worked at a fully explosive record store in Seattle (Underdog)...We struck up a heavy conversation about breaks that would bore most people, but beat fiends like myself get hype in situations like this !!!!!

We have been friends ever since....We exchange breaks, secret society Hip Hop info, and all types of other shit....His knowledge of Chicago Hip Hop is staggering...He also ran a studio in Chicago 1995-2002 (EV Productions) that blessed artist like K.R.S.ONE, Planet Asia, Akbar, Diverse, Longshot, etc.....

Before a night out on the town, I decided to ask him a few questions about whatever the fuck I felt like......Pay attention you might just learn something....HAHAHAHA..


1...HHBF-.....Damn Matt, where is all the graff ?....For a city this size, I was expecting to see more roof-shots, freeway hits, and all that other shit....What's the deal kid ?

1...Mattlock.....It's out there man, you just gotta keep your eyes open. It's nowhere near like it used to be at all though. Mayor Daley made it his mission to wipe out Graf and he's done a great job. I worked on a documentary called "I Write On Stuff" that details a lot of the reasons why graf got shut down in the Chi(search for it online, you may find it).

It's def starting to come back cause the recession has affected Daleys abilty to pay his fools to wipe it out with the buff trucks. A few years ago you would do a piece at midnight and it would be gone by 4AM. Now pieces are running a lot longer.

Also you gotta check out the hood and not just the train lines. There are tons of pieces running on the South and West sides.

Another thing is you will get a felony and go to Cook County Jail for doing graf. Cook County is no picnic, I know from experience lol. The police are very hard on graf out here so only serious cats will get it in out here. I was in there with murderers and they were laughing at me once I told them why I was there haha!

I gotta give props to TAS Crew, XMEN, PUMA Crew, UAC and all the other crews I came up around in Chicago.

RIP to my brothers KEP XMEN,and TEWEL CAB Crew and all the other fallen graf soldiers.

2...HHBF...O.K. O.K. That's what the fuck is up !!!! I have heard some of your beats over the years, and you have your own type-of sound going on...Who have you produced for and what type of equipment do/did you rock ?

2...Mattlock...I've produced mostly Hip Hop artists like Diverse(Chocolate Industries), Longshot, Juice, Ang 13, Akbar, Crucial Conflict etc...

I've also worked with Blues legend Harmonica Hinds and Rob Mazurek from Chicago Underground and Stereolab. I've also had the pleasure of working with Jazz greats Jeff Parker and Ted Sirota.

As far as equipment recently I've been messin with different software but I'm not feelin it too much.

In the past I've had a MPC 3000 midied up to a S950. I also had an Ensoniq EPS 16+ for basslines. I've owned SP 1200's and SP 12's.

The best thing was my high school had a MPC 60 so I got my start on making beats in 1989. I started DJing in 1987 with my shitty pawn store Gemini turntables so once I got Techniques it was like heaven!

Longshot "I" - Produced by Mattlock...2002



3...HHBF....Yo, there is another cat out in Chi-Town that goes by "Mattlock"....HAHAHAHAH, what's the science on that shit ?...Who is the first, O.G. Mattlock famz ?

3...Mattlock...Uhh well my friends started calling me Matlock in 1990...I don't even think that kid was born at that time lol. It's all good though I'm a behind the scenes type of cat and plus there are other dudes callin themselves that. My name is Matt Sibert from Evanston; I don't give a fuck about that nickname shit!

4...HHBF...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA.....I'm not the type-of guy that likes to expose spots....But I'm feeling so good out here-I feel it's only right that you tell the people about some record spots out here that are holding....

4...Mattlock...I haven't been diggin in a long while but I've always come up at all the Reckless Records spots in the city. Dusty Groove has a wide selection and I've spent a ton there. Out of the Past on Madison can be a come-up. The last time I was there with you I got out of the car and kids on the corner pointed at me and said "look a white guy"! Like they never saw one before haha.

The best come ups are outside of Chicago in the sticks and that's all I'll say on that.

Longshot featuring J.U.I.C.E.- "No Wins".....Produced by Mattlock-Co-produced by K-Kruz..



5...HHBF...Yeah, we were deep, deep, deep, deep in the hood for that mission when you got called out...They were probably wondering why I was hanging with your white ass ....HAHAHAHAHA.....Anyway, "Rubberroom" are one of my all time favorite groups from the "GO"...Some of their shit is straight HARDCORE.....You ever see those dudes live ?

5...Mattlock..Yeah man I've seen Rubberroom live many times back in the day! They had some of the most energy and conviction out of any group I've seen from anywhere. Rubberroom was from a time in Chicago where you had to come original and with skills or you were going to get thrown off the stage!

I've seen or heard of Rubberroom performing at Ska, Punk, and Hip Hop shows, they def got around and did they thing.

6...HHBF...Wu- Tang or Juice crew ?

6...Mattlock...C'mon man Juice Crew hands down...Should I even elaborate on that?


7..HHBF... Of course you should homeboy....We will save that for part two (I guess)..

When you look at the news (Regarding Chicago) all you hear about is the crazy gunplay out here....This place has a history of gangsterism....Even the last governor of Illinois is currently facing prison time.....

But what about all the good things that are happening out here ?.....Tell the Hip Hop Battlefield posse about the positive aspects of growing up in Chicago ?


7...Mattlock...Oh man I grew up in a neighborhood of Rastafarians, Nigerians, and Black folks. Everyone looked out for each other... I love Fela Kuti and Lee Perry because of where I'm from. I got into Hip Hop because of my community, it was the antithisis to the gang shit that was going on and still is.

Chicago has more choices for live music in any given night than any city in the world including New York. Tonight we're going to check out Jeff Parker from Tortoise with Josh Abrahms(og Bassist from the Roots). Then we're going to a Hip Hop/Reggae spot a block away after that. What other city has a vibe like that?

Chicago is what you make it. You can hustle and gangbang or you can create a beautiful life. I think it's a lot tougher here than other places I've lived but it's easy to create a great life here.

8...HHBF...It's time to hit the motherfucking avenue (YA HEARD)...You have any shout-outs ?

8...Mattlock...Shout outs to Drasar of course and my Chicago people Hek, Diverse, Chosen, Longshot, Ang 13, Akbar, K Kruz, Racecar, and all the crews I came up around!


HHBF---Word up thanks for that G......Hip Hop Battlefield will be back to normal when I get back to California on Saturday....

Peace-
D

And here is a slept on Chicago heater that Matt put me up on....Fully-G "There She Goes Again"......Don't sleep this is fresh as hell...1994 goodness..