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Brolin: What's up, Evidence, how are you doing man?

Evidence: Doing good. How about you?

Brolin: Not too bad. So I want to talk about the new album. I asked Rakaa and Babu already -- this is your fourth record now, how does it stack up to your previous releases? How is it similar and how is it different from the Dilated that we've heard in the past?

Evidence: I'd just say this is back-to-square-one record. You know. It's really somewhat along the lines of our independent 12-inches on ABB. We just grouped up in a room and we just made the music. The majority of the making of this album was coming off a lot of personal things, was coming off a lot of industry turmoil with our label, and a lot of things were [to blame] for the reason that there was a little less promotion for Neighborhood Watch than the two before it.

Brolin: Sure.

Evidence: With this record it was really about just getting back in there and just banging s*** out. The only example I could use is somewhat of like a punk band. Like we kind of looked at our studio as a garage and at the end of the day what was done was done, no second-guessing it--we're just here to bang out and do what we do.

Brolin: OK.

Evidence: It doesn't mean that we don't put 130 percent in--nothing less--but at the end of the day this is us, and we're not going to second-guess us. It was really refreshing to be honest, because I wasn't even thinking about how the whole record was going to tie together. I was really just thinking about each song in their individual entity, you know. So I was really surprised on how well it flows when we started putting all the songs together. Normally, I take something like that into consideration before making it, but this time it really wasn't about the album, it was about making 12 singles and then how do we put them together.

Brolin: Yeah, I've been listening to you guys since like day one, and I definitely think that the new one is better than the last one. I'm feeling it a lot.

Evidence: Thanks, man.

Brolin: It came out good. Now you guys get...I know the press or media, what have you, or even your fans to a certain point, tend to tag you guys as underground or backpacker or whatever, sort of that label. Is that something that annoys you or do you embrace it or just don't really care and just shrug it off? How does that affect you guys?

Evidence: I learned you have to land in a box, that's the funniest thing.

Brolin: Right.

Evidence: You have to be in a box, you can't just not be in a box, right. God forbid that. So, you know, if that's the box that we're going to fit in then so be it. You know, my problem with the term is I just...it's kind of like at the Grammys or the American Music Awards, or whatever it is, like a best rap award and a best hip-hop award, like what's the difference?

I don't really understand what you're trying to get at. You know, that's fine, I'll win either one, but I don't really understand what one's different about the other. I don't know if it's based on financial status or if it's based on our mentality or, I don't really know, but I know a lot of things about my personal lifestyle don't necessarily coincide with the backpack mentality, you know. Like owning a house or having a nice car and stuff like that, which we've gotten to have through hard work.

Brolin: Yeah.

Evidence: But, as far as like, having the mentality like you know, f*** the radio, or I'm just going to get out and grind in front of the people, or we're blue collar cats, or we don't have a lot of jewelry on, then maybe I'm that.

Brolin: Sure, I hear you. Now, basically since the beginning, you've been MC but also producer. When you first got into it? Did you start as a rapper or start making beats or DJing, how did that come about? Which came first and which do you like feel more comfortable with?

Evidence: Well, I was, as far as like the whole hip-hop umbrella, I was like, I was dancing when I was young, I was really into B-boying. As I got older, I got into graffiti real heavy and skateboarding, which isn't really hip-hop, but kind of close related as far as going against the grain. I've always been around the culture growing up in Venice Beach, you know, it was real prevalent, it was alive and kicking where I was. So it's never been an issue of me like feeling like I need to be part of it because I always was a part of it. My introduction to actually doing it, the music side of it was through QD3, who is Quincy Jones' son.

Brolin: He's from Venice also right?

Evidence: Yeah, I moved in next door to him when I was like 12, you know. My mother, we rented this house. And ironically I was listening to this dude bang beats all night next to me and I was going, "what's going on over there?" I introduced myself, and he had dreadlocks--he looked like the kind of guy I'd want to know. You know what I mean? And I was just like "What are you doing over here?" And he's like, "I'm a rap producer." I didn't even know what a rap producer was. I thought, like I knew people sampled James Brown, but besides that I thought it was a band or something, like I didn't know how it got done.

Brolin: Yeah.

Evidence: So he took me back there and showed me what he did. I would see rappers that I knew come over and kick raps. I'd see them leave. I'd see him sit there and really tune their vocals and do little tricks, and really make them way better without even them realizing it, you know. And I was like, oh OK this is what production is. It's not just about the beat, but it's about making the artist bigger and really seeing. And he's Quincy Jones' son, so of course he knows how to do that s***, you know what I mean?

Brolin: It's in his blood, yeah. No doubt.

Evidence: So I didn't want to do what he did, but he organized my mind to think like that initially. I wanted to be the rapper, I was young, I wanted to get laid, I wanted the attention. He was sitting in a dark room all night. But he organized my mind to think like a producer. So, you know the funniest part was, is, all of my friends wanted to start coming over and kicking over there, come over to my house just so they could go over to Quincy's house. Like, my homey Joey Chavez, he lived down the street and he'd be like "Yo, let's go next door to Quincy's." So Quincy kind of sparked Joey Chavez [into] making beats and then Alan, my homey, became Alchemist...You know Scott Caan, who was Mad Skillz, they were a group called The Whooliganz back in the day.

Brolin: Yeah, I remember that.

Evidence: So, like, everyone would be over--coming over to my crib just so we could all go over to Quincy's house, you know, and it was the funniest s***. It was like hip-hop heaven for us, and he sparked our whole click. Even Rakaa to be honest, because he gave us our first beats to rap on. Our first Dilated demos were over his tracks.

Brolin: Now, as far as when you're making beats for Dilated do you do everything all computerized now or do you still bang out on a MPC? What kind of equipment do you prefer to use?

Evidence: Yeah. Well I have all the new equipment, but I only look at it as a source. Like, people used to use two-inch tape as a source, you rap your music to the tape. Then we couldn't afford tapes, so we had ADATs at our house, you know, you could record your music to ADAT, it was a digital format. I use Pro Tools just like that, it's just a source. I still make all my beats on the MP or the ASR-10. I put them into Pro Tools and it's nice now because you can move it around, you know, that's the beautiful thing is you can move music now--oh this drum is landing a little too heavy, let's move it the right. Back in the day if you wanted to do that, you'd have to cut the reel and like literally move it over, you know. Once you cut the reel, if you messed up it was all bad and it was just a lot of drama. So Pro Tools has given everybody a lot of chances to correct their wrongdoings. It's definitely... You know, if you're faded it's definitely a good sobering process.

Brolin: It helps, yeah.

Evidence: But it also really allows you to second-guess yourself man, because...

Brolin: Because you can just do things until infinity.

Evidence: There was something about it back in the day, once you put it down to the tape it was done. You lay your vocals down to the tape [and] it's a wrap, it's done. Now it's like, oh maybe we'll just move this a little right or move this a little left. You know, it gets to the point where you can really just kind of produce yourself a little too much. So I try to just use it as primitively as possible.

Brolin: Right on. Now I know you guys tour extensively and you've got a big following overseas. What are some of your favorite places, like countries or cities, to rock at?

Evidence: I don't necessarily--and I don't mean any disrespect to anybody in this town--but I don't really love Germany, because it's so far and it's such a far plane [ride] and every time we get there its f****** snowing and it's freezing. But the second I get on stage out there it's all worth it because they know how to rock out there, m***** f****** go crazy. When I don't have to jump up and down to get the crowd hyped, it's doing it by itself, you know something's popping off.

Brolin: Yeah, that's a good sign. Are you guys going to be touring to support this record?

Evidence: Yeah, February 22 the tour starts, Dilated, Little Brother, and Defari--it's back to square one. All ABB artists really going to just bring that hip-hop movement back. Because the people are tired of it right now and I think, to be honest, everyone is trying to imitate so much that I think people are going to be happy to see people being themselves for a minute, like us. You know? Like, "Let's go to this show because they're not trying to be 50 Cent," you know what I mean?

Brolin: Right, right I hear you.

Evidence: So you know that's...we're just trying to bring that to the people. Let them know there is an alternative and we are not alternative at the same time.

Brolin: You're just doing real hip-hop.

Evidence: That's it.

Brolin: Now you guys, you've been together for a long time, I mean four full-lengths from a rap group is almost kind of rare. Do you have... I know you've done a lot of outside projects and side projects and stuff. Do you have any ambitions for a solo project or are you more comfortable working as part of the team?

Evidence: No, I'm definitely all about the solo thing when the time is right. I love my group because I get to hide behind it, you know. People ask us questions, they don't ask about my personal life, they ask about our group as a general, things that apply to all three of us. Like, you know when I start doing the Evidence album it's going to be, "So Evidence, let's talk about your parents, or let's talk about your ethnicity or let's talk about this." Right now it's more just like, "So how do you guys feel about hip-hop?" It's a big comfort blanket.

Brolin: Yeah, yeah.

Evidence: Because I don't have to give all of me and at the same time I can still get a lot from it, where some artists got to put their whole heart on the line. I said on the new album, "I wear my heart on my sleeve. I've just got my jacket over it." You know, that's how I am. It's like, I'll give you a little bit, but I'm still going to cover that s*** up. So when it's time for me to do my solo thing, it will be when I'm really, really comfortable with who I am and I'll have to start letting people in. I'm prepping towards that and it's not far away, it really isn't, it's going to be some s***, trust me.

Brolin: Cool.

Evidence: In the meantime, I'm producing a lot. I produced Planet Asian's whole new album. I did all 16 cuts. He's one of my favorite rappers. The fact that I did his whole album, it's going to speak a lot as far as me as a producer. One, that he chose me and respected me enough to do it. And two, just the versatility I'm going to show through this record. We just found it a home. I'm not going to speak on who it is because the ink isn't dry yet, but it's going to be really dope. We've got Prodigy from the Mobb on there, Black Thought from The Roots, first Cali Agents/Dilated People's collaboration ever, Alchemist, Strong Arm Steady, his whole crew. A lot of people on this record. And it's going to be where people understand what I'm capable of as a producer, not just making a cool cut here, or a cool cut there, but that dude can do a whole album.

Brolin: Put a solid album together.

Evidence: Yeah, because you've got Alchemist doing 1st Infantry, you've got Babu doing Likwit Junkies, you've got 9th Wonder out there just doing albums for everybody.

Brolin: That guy's going nuts, I know.

Evidence: And it's crazy, because the material is not suffering. It's still dope you know, and that's just the real s***, so it's really dope for me to get to do that, because I'm going to let everybody know I'm right on that level and ready to play.

Brolin: Nice. Now, do you feel like being a producer versus being a rapper, do you feel like you're better at one than the other or do you feel more comfortable at one, or is it pretty balanced out, or I mean, what do you consider yourself first?

Evidence: It's a different gratification. Like rapping, that's coming from like my heart, that's coming out of my body, that's a sound that my body produces. Like musical notes don't shoot out of my fingertips, you know what I mean. Like, I have to play the piano, it's something else that I have to play to get music out of, where rap is actually coming from my body which, it's crazy, you know what I mean, if you think about it. So, you know, anything that's going to come from you directly with no extension whatsoever, it's probably going to be a little more gratifying. However, I've had a chance to work with some big artists, and some of the ones I've respected, and there's nothing like producing a big group and sitting at that console and you feel like a f****** zillion dollars, you really do.

Brolin: So lyrically, occasionally you guys will get criticized for, you know, critics will say that you stick to the same themes, like killing wack MCs and sort of bravado rhymes. Does that ever bother you or does it just give you more motivation to come harder on the next project, or what?

Evidence: I think they got the wrong group, man. Honestly I do, because if you look at our songs titles, everything is focused, you know, and I don't really see that, especially with the new record. I'm not mad at anybody--I like to lead by example s***. No, I'm like, if I'm talking about you then you really better take offense to it because I just hit a real valid point if I said some s***. You know what I mean? Because there's no animosity in me, I mean I don't have any reason to be mad at anybody. I do fine off music and I'm happy for anybody that does fine as well. It's a blessing. But there is room to kill wack MCs, let's just get that straight. There's plenty of time for that. But it's never been reflected on our songs that have had success. If you look at "Work the Angles," it was about how we're going to get around the industry and fit into it without just a big entrance door. "Worst Comes To Worst," my peoples come first. "This Way," "Back Again," these are anthems, these are not just like rambling-off-of-the-mouth records. We have those on our album, but for every spit line there's definitely some brain food to balance it out.

Brolin: I was talking with Rakaa about how the Capleton track "FirePower"...how you guys sort of touch on politics and the Katrina situation. And just how a lot of entertainers in general--but rappers especially, seem kind of like scared to talk about real stuff that's going on in the world, and it's good to hear you guys addressing that at least.

Evidence: Yeah, I said "I've got my boots on. I know Bush is Lucifer," how much more plain can it get than that? (laughs) Keep your boots on, man. You never know what's going to happen in the middle of the night nowadays. Sleep with your shoes on, homie.

Brolin: Now you guys have been doing this for a while now, you've been able to tour the world, it seems like you have a good situation with Capital and with ABB. You're doing videos and all the stuff like that. Kids today, everybody out there who wants to be a rapper or they want to be a producer or a DJ or get into the rap game somehow, what advice would you give to the next generation that's seeing all this stuff on TV and just getting gassed up and wanting to be a part of that?

Evidence: I'd just say...You know, what I was about to say was almost old, because kids are getting way smarter now. But just in case you haven't got as smart as the statement I'm about to make, I'll put you in the light. A record deal is not a pot of gold, man, it's really not. All it is just a f****** door that opens up to another one, and in that other one there's plenty of opportunities there if you choose to utilize them. If not, you could just sit in that one room for your whole career. It's really what you do with it. And I'll say this too: label people at labels are not artists and they know they're not artists, that's why they work. As much as they want to be artists, they're not artists. So if you go in there and you say, "Hey what do you guys think or what's the best way to do this, you tell me?" They don't respect that. They want people who know exactly what their vision is and are willing to take nothing less. And they might pretend they don't, and they want to fight you and say you're disruptive and all that s***, but at the end of the day, a label and this industry will respect the artist who knows why they're here and what they're here to do, much, much more than a cookie-cutter group that just kind of fills the mold of whatever they want at that point, and they drop next year. At the end of the day, these people don't give a s*** about you. You need to care about your own life, so f*** them, word up.

Brolin: Right on, man. Any last words for the fans out there?

Evidence: 20/20, the new LP--we put our all into it. You know, either you're going to like us or you're not at this point, man. We're really just here to do us and try to bring it to the people.

Brolin: Cool. Right on, man. Well, thanks for taking the time to do this. Like I said, the album is dope, and I've been listening to you guys for a long time and hopefully I'll be able to catch a show the next time you guys are in town out here.

Evidence: All right, homie.

Brolin: All right. Thanks a lot, man. Take it easy. Good luck with the album.

Evidence: Thanks.

Read/Listen to our Interview with Rakaa Iriscience.

Read/Listen to our Interview with DJ Babu.