Vintage Thirstin Howl Interview

I'm at the home of my friend and frequent collaborator Irina, and I found an interview she did in 1999 with (NY underground stalwart) Thirstin Howl here on her laptop, which she has given me permission to post:

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Irina Slutsky: Today is Monday, August 23, 1999 and this is Irina interviewing Thirstin Howl III

Thirstin Howl III: Skillionaire

IS: Skillionaire…. So we’ve got 25 minutes before he’s gotta roll cuz he’s a busy man. Tell me about your background and your life history….

TH: I’m originally from NY, I was born in Far Rockaway, Queens in Peninsula Hospital right across the street from Edgemere Projects and we moved to Brownsville when I was about 9 but we lived all around east NY and my family traveled around with my mother. Plus you know I lived from house to house with relatives as well cuz my mother spent a lot of time in and out of prison but I’m from Brownsville. Anyone ever asks you, I’m from Brownsville, that’s where I learned everything that’s where I became who I am.

IS: And Brownsville is a neighborhood in Brooklyn…

TH: Brownsville is one of the roughest in Brooklyn, if not THE roughest. Nothing but projects in Brownsville. Every project is surrounded by a project on every end. I lived there with my mother and my two younger sisters.

IS: Do you feel like you were a good influence on your sisters?

TH: I was their father. They’ll tell you that themselves. They hated me a lot because I was strict. Somebody had to be strict. My mother wasn’t strict. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted. I didn’t have too much discipline myself so I made sure my sisters were disciplined in some kind of sense.

IS: The first time you heard hip hop was…..

TH: I was with my sister and we were listening to Rapper’s Delight and my sister already knew all the words by heart

IS: And how did it make you feel when you heard that?

TH: I wanted to know all the words just like she did.

IS: Why?

TH: It was different, you know. It was just something that captured you automatically and I can’t really explain it. It was just something you wanted to do.

IS: And ever since then you’ve been interested in hip hop? Who did you like back them?

TH: Real pioneers like Treacherous Three, Whippa Whip, the Harlem World tapes, Grandmaster Flash, Furious Five, the Crash Crew, the Awesome Foursome, groups like that. I also used to breakdance and I really loved it. For a kid to be so young -- 12, 13 – and I disciplined myself, I practiced every day. Now I wasn’t just a breakdancer – I mastered every move, along with my brother. I have an older brother as well. But my brother lived in Florida so he would live back and forth with us. We mastered breakdancing. It just expressed how I loved this art form. I was also into graffiti, we used to go bombing trains and things like that.

IS: And it made you feel like you were part of something bigger? I’m just trying to get at why you were so drawn to it…

TH: The love … you know how when you need to have something? It didn’t make me feel like I was a part of something because it was a part of me automatically. It was a natural thing, it was my calling I feel.

IS: Who do you listen to now? If you were stuck on a desert island (sorry for the cliché) who would you take with you? What albums? Who do you respect?

TH: I respect lyrics more than anything. You can play a beat with your lyrics, that’s how I express it. Ghostface definitely. Canibus, Eminem. As far as albums, I would take Run DMC’s Greatest Hits, Grandmaster Flash, Furious Five Greatest Hits, I’d probably take a Doo Wop mixed tape from ’95 Live with all the freestyles, Tony Touch’s Power Cypher Part One, to me that was the best one he ever made.

IS: What year was that?

TH: Summer of 96. I would probably take Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth Soul Brother. Reakwon, of course, he has the greatest Wu album, to me, of all time.

IS: Who’s in your CD player right now?

TH: Nas. The I Am CD. He’s lyrical. He came back on the scene in a way nobody expected because he kind of got caught up in the Crystalle era and the player era, but the way he expressed himself on the new album – he gave everybody exactly what they didn’t expect. Most of his shit was passion or hate or whatever he was going through he expressed it very well. That’s important regardless of what you’re going through in life – you’re supposed to interpret whatever you’re going through into your music. So good times, hard times, bad times – whatever the case, a true lyricists is gonna be able to express that through his music anyway. So you can never say “I got writer’s block cuz I’m stressed.” You supposed to exercise that stress.

IS: That’s one of your talents – to exercise that stress and rhyme all night…

TH: I freestyle. That’s just something I love to do.

IS: And when did you start doing that?

TH: I did it one time when I was 16. A friend of mine used to go practice djing in the studio so he asked me to some down there. This was in Brooklyn.

IS: What studio?

TH: It was actually Funky Slice Studios. It’s still downtown Brooklyn. My man Sha was djing, practicing in the studio, he had a video camera down there. Me and my man Disco and my man Haz went down there, we played with the mics and we freestyled for 2 hours. And he recorded this on the video. I still got the tape. Watching the tape now – I got busy! Meaning, I didn’t write no rhymes I just went in there and said anything that came to my head and made sure it was on beat. But I never took it seriously and I never did it again. I didn’t do it again till I was 26!

IS: What made you do it again?

TH: Getting drunk at my house. One day we just started playing this instrumental tape and heads was freestyling, just playing – but they way I seen it was able to come out was I couldn’t stop. Everything was right and exact – I’m saying whatever comes to my head but I’m making it rhyme! When I saw I could do that, it was really getting me open. I thought, “this is what I love more than anything in life. And I could do it? Get outta here!”

IS: So you surprised yourself?

TH: I surprised myself. It turned into an everyday thing. And it led to whatever is to come about.
I just started writing one day and really getting creative as far as conceptually, coming up with some weird ideas but skilled at the same time.

IS: When was the first time that you thought you could do an album? That you could record something?

TH: I started recording first. Once I got involved in the writing, I just started taking instrumentals that I would buy from the store, go in the studio and lace some rhymes over it. That helped me develop my style to see what I was going to become. When I first started, I wasn’t Thirstin Howl.

IS: What did you call yourself?

TH: Everyone called me Big Lo The Barbarian. So that was the name I still went by, my Lo Life name. I didn’t know what exactly I would be able to do or where I would take my style until I started recording. Then once I bought a four-track, we really started recording.

IS: When was the first time you did a semi-important show?

TH: The FIRST show I ever did was at the Lyricist’s Lounge.

IS: What year was that?

TH: March 31, 1997. Me and Master Fuol performed along with Rack Lo. I didn’t expect the response that I got. I never had done a show, I didn’t know if I could do a show, I didn’t know if I would have a crowd response. But the way the crowd screamed for the first show we ever did! And it’s my first show ever and I got a picture in The Source behind it and I was happy. And to see my picture in three other magazines for that one night. I felt like we must be doing something right. It made us concentrate a lot more on our shows and stage presence as far as what we incorporated into the entertainment aspect of it.

IS: Tell me about the Spit Squad – what is it and how it came about…

TH: The Spit Squad are all the people who I’ve met when I started rhyming. Before I started rhyming I was into other things. I hung out with certain groups of people. But when I started rhyming, I didn’t want to do anything else but always rhyme. You know how in a Karate movie, one man is travelling the roads and he runs into a bar and he fights with a guy and they become friends cuz of their skills. And then they travel to another town and fight another guy and he joins up with them and that’s how the Spit Squat got together. We all met each other on some battlin’ shit. But everybody who I met on the Spit Squad, we hit it off right away and we were together every day after that. As far as trust, as far as brotherly love for each other, as far as loyalty to each other.

IS: Can you name these people?

TH: It’s myself, Thirstin Howl aka Slobba Ranks; Master Fuol aka Iceberg Flem, Richie Balance aka The Soul Saliva, Rack Lo is Dr. Droolittle, Slick the Sniper is Hock-2-D-2, Knowledge B Born is Ernest Flemingway, Tashique is Brad Spitt, Skilla Gorilla is Mark Spitts – there’s a lot of other Spit Squodd affiliates. There’s an immediate Spit Squodd like the ones who are a group. There’s a lot of people out there that we came across in the same aspect and we’re down together. Like Punchline and Wordsworth, Quest the Madd Lad, Brooklyn Academy, Will Tell, Word of Mouth.

IS: For someone who knows little about hip hop, how would you fit yourself into the whole realm of hip hop?

TH: My motto was that as far as to capture anybody even people who don’t listen to hip hop, a lot of my stuff is very humorous, meaning – I don’t care where you’re from, what color you are, how old you are or what kind of music you listen to, everybody knows how to laugh. So if I can come across and capture a wider audience just by making them laugh, people who don’t like hip hop, people who love hip hop – whoever it is, that’s the best way I can tell them – You wanna laugh? Listen. But, I’m a very serious person.

IS: So you use humor to get across some kind of point?

TH: The humor is actually who I really am. It’s expressed naturally because I grew up around people cracking jokes all day and this is all we ever did. Those weren’t my intentions when I started. I didn’t say “Oh, let me make this funny.” It’s just the way it naturally came out.

IS: How do you feel about what the Source said – “You either endure his punchlines or run away.”

TH: It’s a battle. When I began this all I ever wanted to do was battle. I would battle everybody. I would hunt mc’s down to battle and stand outside a club waiting for rappers. I just needed to prove my point. I’m trying to get in the door. That’s all I was trying to do – let them know that I’m worthy of what I’m speaking of – I’m worthy of any of your deals or opportunities you have to offer. I wanted to show them the HUNGER and that’s how the name Thirstin Howl came about.

IS: Yes, tell us more about your name? A stupid question I hear a lot from other people – what does it have to do with Gilligan’s Island?

TH: The only thing it has to do with Gilligan’s Island is my name. We call our studio “Skilligan’s Island.” You’re not going to hear no Gilligan’s Island gimmicks. Thirstin Howl was a millionaire who bragged about money. I’m the opposite. Money ain’t my thing and I ain’t bragging about it. I don’t need that to show you I have skills. I’m a Skillionaire, that’s what it’s about to me.

IS: Like you said, you don’t talk about money. Some people say that ’98 was the year of the Thug. Sometimes, Thug is all you hear. Some DJ’s are really pushing all that type of music. People are singing about being thugs, other people claim that no one is really a thug, etc. etc. What’s your opinion on all that?

TH: A real thug is not going tell you he’s a thug. He’s not going to exploit his business. He’s going to do what he’s got to do. A lot of people glorify the thug life cuz they never lived it and they don’t understand the consequences. A lot of people worship it – I don’t know what kind of life some of these DJ’s have led -- I don’t think it’s been a thug life -- but maybe they admire thugs or look up to them or whatever. Everybody has their own interpretation for what they feel about it, but me personally it’s nothing I want to glorify and show the kids of tomorrow or even our culture that we need to be thugs or we need to be bad or better than the next person, more aggressive. There’s a lot of other things to talk about.

IS: How do you want to use your past?

TH: As an example. My past is what it is. I will never deny it. I’m not glorifying it. I just want to make claim for what actually happened, for what we did. But at the same time, I want to show people that we didn’t stay in that realm of what we were doing. We expanded. There were the transitions within our lives that brought us about from a negative to a positive aspect. And that’s what we’re into now. It’s not like we’re just going to glorify all the negative stuff. I’m going to show you the positive and set the example if I can.

IS: You put your mother’s mug shot on the back of the CD. Let’s talk about that.

TH: That’s something I’m very proud of. [Silence]

IS: Explain that because most people wouldn’t understand.

TH: OK. My mother, whatever kind of life she led, had influence on who I am. In the environment I come from, her teachings were very valuable to me. Especially, to amount to whatever I’m going to amount to today. I come from not a pretty place. Me growing up there or anybody growing up there thinks “This is the ordinary. This is the normal.” It’s really a struggle. It’s really hard. It’s really tough.

My mother taught me not to be afraid of anyone cuz she was not afraid. My mother was actually a real thug to the day she died. I needed a gun, my mother got me a gun. I need a knife, my mother got me a knife. If I need to bring a girl to handle my business, I could do that.

My mother didn’t keep me blind to the world. She let me go taste it for myself and see what it was so I could know the difference. She wasn’t a positive role model for me, but she was who she was and I love her for everything she did. She did more prison time than I did! Probably more bids at the same time. She did her last bid in ’96! [Laughs] She was still going back to do another six months for slinging her shit or whatever.

I’m very proud of that picture. I found that picture after she passed away. I had to pack up her stuff and go through her things and I found that picture. The first thing I did after I found it was to blow it up real big and I hung it up right on the wall in the middle of all I do so I can look up every day and that’s my inspiration right there.

IS: It inspires you to….

TH: It inspires me to continue to not be afraid of shit, and love her for who she was and not worry about what she could have done for me or what went wrong. A lot of people condemn their parents for their up bringing. That picture – I’m proud of that. This is what we went through, this is the life we were subjected to but it made me a man, it made me strong. My mother used to bring razors to me on Riker’s Island. She knew how to sneak them in and all that. Where we were at, this was necessary. This was survival. So if she was able to teach me her tactics. We’d go back and forth I used to go visit her in jail too. I would take her the gold chains that I snatched so she could be thugged out in jail. You know it’s funny.

IS: A lot of people see this picture and it makes a big point.

TH: Let them know, they can’t bite that. I don’t want to see no other rapper with their mother’s mug shot on the back of their album.

IS: How do you feel you represent yourself to your female audience?

TH: Cuz of the “keep on cluckin” song? Well, if you notice, our of 27 songs that’s the only song that speaks on women. HUMOROUS. We don’t concentrate on women. Degrading them or even glorifying them. That’s not our thing. Not to diss women, we love women.

IS: What do you hear from women?

TH: There were women who got upset. The ones who related to it got upset. The ones who didn’t , thought it was funny. Those women exist. If you don’t live your life the way I describe in the song, you would never be upset. You have no reason to be upset. If I say “Bitch” and if I say “Ho” (which I rarely do) I’m talking to the bitch and the ho. You know exactly what you are. There’s bitches and there’s hos. It exists.

IS: I guess it’s not that interesting to put on a song about a woman that you like, that’s not your style?

TH: I wouldn’t say it’s not my style. I haven’t gotten to that.

IS: It’s in your future.

TH: Everything is in my future. I feel like there’s no limit to what we’re gonna do. Just cuz we did a certain kind of song doesn’t mean that you’re going to see the same kind of songs again. We gonna expand as much as we can.

IS: When you write, do you consider an audience or do you write in a vacuum?

TH: I write for myself. Almost all that stuff on the CD, we were at home playing around recording on a four track, seeing what we could come up with. Not thinking “Yo, we gonna sell these tapes.” Of course we’re thinking Demo but a demo’s three of four songs. We couldn’t stop. We got tons of material. More than this. The whole thing was to enjoy what we’re doing and love what we’re doing and that’s what we did. That’s how we were able to be creative, not concentrating on anyone but what we love and what we like. And I’m satisfied when I hear lyrics I like – I love my shit more than anybody. I listen to my own song a million times after I record it. If it goes exactly how I recorded it I’m happy with it.

IS: You have a record company right now.

TH: Skillionaire is my own label. This CD is my demo, whatever, but it’s actually what’s setting the path for me. This is something that I don’t plan to duplicate over. Whoever I sign to, whatever I do, none of these songs will ever be duplicated and put on another album. If I sign with one of the big majors, this CD will still be available only on Skillionaire.

IS: Who would you consider your musical and lyrical influences?

TH: Every era had a specific person or a specific lyricist. KRS-One dominated hip hop and rap in battle form and performance for a while. A lot of people discredit him now because he’s not on the top of his game as he used to be or shining like he used to be. He played a big part. Big Daddy Kane was a big influence for me. Just being from Brooklyn, having that Brooklyn style, the way you dress, the way you walk, the way you talk, representing yourself. Being a thug, like I said, I don’t talk all that thug stuff on here but it’s the way I grew up. It’s actually what I was bred to be.

IS: What about the Latin aspect of hip hop music? Do you feel like you fit in?

TH: Not to discredit anybody, but I feel like I’m doing what nobody has done. It’s being touched. Tony Touch is tight with his Spanish stuff he does. I like Tony a lot. Beatnuts they do their thing too, but I feel the way I bring it, the way I’m representing it, it’s totally different from what everybody’s doing.

IS: What is it that you bring that is so different?

TH: I’m a Puerto Rican, raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Where there are no Puerto Ricans.

IS: You were the only Puerto Rican family?

TH: On my block or whatever. There were a few here and there scattered around. It’s 90% Black and 10% Puerto Rican. Especially growing up in a project like that, I’ve seen pressures more than a lot of other people just being Puerto Rican. It made me stronger. It made me the one to apply the pressure rather than wait for the pressure to be applied to me. It actually turned me into whatever thug I was supposed to be. That contributed a lot to my whole Spanish vibe because I didn’t grow up around a lot of Spanish people who spoke Spanish to me all day. My mother didn’t speak Spanish to me. I lived with my grandmother for a while and she doesn’t speak no English. That’s how I was able to speak fluent Spanish with her. Being in Brownsville, I didn’t exercise it as much so I was just around Black people my whole life. But when I started doing rap I’m such a lyricist and I’m real critical with all the words I use and in English a lot of stuff was used. But in Spanish almost nothing was used. I don’t have to be so critical. At the same time, I’m not biting, I’m just flowing as it comes. My family roots, understanding my culture, the memories of my household, the family gatherings, the bond of my family even now is still the Puerto Rican culture is there. It’s a natural thing. I’m very proud to be a Puerto Rican.

IS: This is what you feel that you’re bringing to the forefront that’s different from anybody else.

TH: I’m a package deal. That’s what I’m bringing to the forefront. Whatever we’re bringing as a unit or even myself just solo is we’re bringing what you don’t expect. In so many aspects, I can’t even go into how many.

IS: Give me a few things people expect and how you are different from that?

TH: People expect me to be funny like a comedian after they hear the music. Like I’m going to be joking around and laughing in your face all day. You’re not going to see that. You expect me to be ignorant or stupid just cuz my music reflect a lot of funny shit and you think I’m going to be joking around a lot. I’m very serious. I want to handle the business. I want to get down to whatever we gotta get down to and keep it moving. It’s a lot of things. We are the total opposite of what people expect.

IS: Where did you get your vocabulary base?

TH: From the prison library! [laughs all around] I did a lot of reading and a lot of writing. I had so many female friends. I was a ladies man. I got at least five to six letters a day from different women. This was every day throughout years I would get that. Every day I would write back everybody. I would write stories. Creative stories. Or just write my thoughts and make them very visual. This was way before I started rapping. This is where I believe I got my writing skill. Picking up books here and there. Being in prison, you meet a lot of intelligent people. Everybody thinks you only run into the criminals. You actually meet so many positive people, such intelligent brothers that it’s shocking. They’ve been Subjected to the f**ked up lifestyles we’re introduced to being from the ghetto, but what they had to offer was really great. I met a lot of brothers who would just throw a big word at me just so I could go look it up. We would play games like that – “Use this word in a sentence.” I wouldn’t know the word so I’m forced to go look it up. Man sharpens man, trying to make each other elevated. Whether it’s knowledge or strength. The same thing was in the gym. You make sure you got your work out partner so you push each other.

IS: Do you have a favorite book or movie or word?

TH: Beat Street. It’s a strong movie for me. I would like to Beat Street 2000. Let’s do it over, cuz breakdancing came back. RESPONSIBILITY is an important word. There’s so much that comes along with responsibility.

IS: What does that word mean to you? Responsibility for your past, your future?

TH: Responsibility for everything. If you want to be in control of anything, you have to be responsible for it.

IS: Where do you see yourself in five years? Go for it!

TH: In a big motherf**kin house. A big house with my whole family living in the house. I’m planning Thanksgiving 2000 – I plan to have a nice home with my grandmother and all my aunts cooking the biggest Thanksgiving meal we ever had. All my cousins, even the crackheads, the ones coming home from prison, the lesbian cousins, everybody is coming over. I don’t give a f**k. As long as it’s family. You need those people to keep balance – the ones who f**k up the ones who do good.

IS: What are you doing today to get you to where you want to be?

TH: I’m making sure I don’t pass up anything. My motto is “You never know.” There are so many people in different things that are in your position – if you’re a new artist trying to come out, there are new writers trying to come out, new directors trying to come out, new everything in all different aspects now. Anyone who’s hungry and eager to get into what you’re doing, they’re only going to push it for you. Meaning, I’m sitting here with you today. I would never turn away from the opportunity. I make sure I every ground. Say you write for a magazine that only has two readers. You never know who those two readers are. I’m not going to pass up anything. I’m not in a position to pass up anything right now.

IS: You’re working hard. It was hard for me to schedule an interview with you really.

TH: There’s so much on the table right now. We’re running around.

IS: What can people look for in the stores, clubs, whatever you’re doing.

TH: You can find in the stores the Brooklyn Hard Rock single with Unique London, Spit Boxers featuring Master Fuol. Coming this month, Still Live With My Moms will be on wax, on Skillionaire. By end of this year by November you’ll be getting a Game Records single from Thirstin Howl featuring Rack Lo – a song called “Polo Rican.” Another song called “Skilla B Skilled” PF Cuttin is going to produce one of the joints will tell is going to produce one. We’re working hard, trying to secure a spot in the New Skillenium, that’ s the name of the album. When it comes out on whoever we sign with. Next year. Make sure they watch the Lyricist’s Lounge TV show on MTV in January with Master Fuol.

IS: Anything else people should know?

TH: Yeah, tell them “We’re not playing.”

Posted by jsmooth995 at July 30, 2004 7:58 PM