GC and Soul Mafia is one of the top up-and-coming hip hop groups in the game and have been involved with the NBA and ESPN through their music. In this interview they talk about the Don Imus and Rutgers women's basketball team controversy, its relativity to hip hop, and give their opinion on the NBA Playoffs.
First, tell me a little about the group - the members, how you all got started...
GC and Soul Mafia started back in 2002 with me and Prism (keyboards/production) making records and hitting every open mic/ showcase in NYC. Then we expanded to the full live band and started doing shows at every little club and bar in NYC grinding our way up from shows with three people in the crowd to Hot 97's Summer Jam Festival Stage in front of 10,000 plus. I knew Iam from a group we were in together back in the Midwest. We needed a new singer so I called him out of the blue and asked if he wanted in. He hopped on the next Greyhound bus and performed for the first time in five years at Summer Jam with Naughty by Nature, Baby Cham, Beenie Man, Funk Flex and more. DW has been holding us down on bass for a few years and we play with about 10 different drummers.
What is your connection to basketball? How was that experience?
We have been lucky to do a number of basketball theme songs including ESPN's "City Slam" and The Knicks' theme song. It is always a little surreal for me to hear my voice come on in the middle of a basketball game - I have met a few people in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who recognize my voice from the "Knicks' Night" show on MSG before they even know I rap.
Considering that you are a hip-hop group and it seems that hip hop is the "next target" for either censorship or some sort of restriction, what are your thoughts on the Don Imus situation of calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy headed hos"? Do you think it's a fair association that hip hop and its vernacular are being coupled with a radio shock jock's ability to say whatever he wants to capture an audience's attention to whatever degree it may be?
I don't believe in censoring anything - unfortunately some racist, zealous, and bigoted speech is going to occur in a society with freedom of speech. What I personally dislike, although I don't think it should be censored is when people utilize there voice to pick on people who have less power than themselves. A lot of shock jocks and comedians seem to build careers around bully pulpits as exemplified by Don Imus.
Hip-hop, on the other hand, started as a voice for black male rage and a source of empowerment for a disenfranchised urban population - despite all of the corporate exploitation of that basic model - it is still an underdog story at the core. Besides, at the end of the day, rap lyrics are just the razor thin surface to a slew of problems that go along with a disappearing middle class in this country. But, that's a much larger discussion. Oh and by the way we are in a bloody quagmire that is only serving the interests of terrorist recruiters and Halliburton: so does Don Imus or hip hop really hold a candle to the black hole sun of Iraq?
Okay, let's get back to keeping it light... who are your favorite teams and who do you like in the upcoming NBA Playoffs?
I personally like the Indiana Pacers having spent a lot of years near Nap Town, but since they're not in the postseason, if I had to place bets, it would be on the Miami Heat.
What's next for GC and Soul Mafia and where can readers check out some of your music?
You can catch G.C. and Soul Mafia at Crash Mansion May 7th in NYC; in Detroit with Zapp on June 24th at the brand new River Walk Ampitheater; June 15th At Joe's Pub in NYC with Candace Jones and Kidz in the Hall; and in Indianapolis on July 21 at Club Industry with R. Kelly and T Pain.
Our new album Redline is available online, on I Tunes, and our website has links to purchase: WWW.SoulMafia.net. And finally, big Shout out to Eric Martinez and Tony Brown from Elevation Suite Music Group.
