dante ross cool stories

[cwdoom]

After hearing the MC Serch episode, I was hard pressed to believe Cipha Sounds and Rosenberg could top it. Let alone, top it with the next episode! I was wrong though as legendary hip hop A&R Dante Ross (do your research) upped the ante with his stories about the early days with DOOM, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, the Beasties, ODB (downright hilarious), flying with guns and more. If you're a rap nerd, this one's for you.

And you thought Serch was good? Listen to epic stories about the Beasties, LONS, Q-Tip, The Beatnuts, Pete Rock and CL, Brand Nubian, 3rd Bass, MF Doom, and so much more! 105 minutes of hip hop LEGEND!

https://soundcloud.com/rosenbergradio/juan-ep-dante-ross

[cj hood]

great interview....

[Micodin]

Listened to half of it on my commute to work. I've been trying to tell peeps that the Juan Epstein podcast is hip hop nerd heaven. But sleepers sleep.

Peep the Diamond D, Ghostface, Mike Tyson, Busta Rhymes, Erick Sermon, Redman episodes, and many more! They are all gold mines.

[Jiberish]

Thanks for sharing!

[Brass Monk]

I was the only white boy at union square and Latin quarter!
Didn't have to come with the first or illest album or really accomplish anything but I cautiously set foot there a couple of times hence I deserve automatic, full and utmost respect.
What a tired, pointless, sad, lame-ass argument.

That said I love all these stories, thanks for the link :)

[3stooges]

I was the only white boy at union square and Latin quarter!
Didn't have to come with the first or illest album or really accomplish anything but I cautiously set foot there a couple of times hence I deserve automatic, full and utmost respect.
What a tired, pointless, sad, lame-ass argument.

That said I love all these stories, thanks for the link :)

It was a different time. It might not seem like it means anything to you, because nowadays there are so many white people in hip hop. But back then people just thought you were crazy. I wasn't as early on as Serch and Dante, or the Beasties, but going to a see PE and NWA in '88 in Oakland, it was a similar kind of thing. Maybe 2% white if that. And this wasn't even that early on. But it took a while to get mainstreamed. You think it means nothing because everything's different now, but to the people that were there, it definitely means something.

Besides, those guys are respected for so much more than that. 3rd Bass were great lyricists. And Dante did a lot of hard work in the background to help a lot of great artists shine and deserves whatever props he gets for that. No doubt he's got some bravado, but it's not like he's blowing smoke.

[Micodin]

I've heard a bunch of shady stories about Dante, but I respected his production and hustle. He was pretty much everywhere in hip hop and blew up a bunch of amazing crews and rappers. I give him some dap for that.

Dante trying to jerk Bronson over was pretty shitty tho. He's definitely a scumbag.

[Bernard Goetz]

Perlman's Got Beats And It Ain't No Secret
Dante Found His Shit But You Know He Freaked It

[Micodin]

Dante is a scrub
Dante is a scrub (scrub)
Dante is a scrub (is a big scrub)
Dante is a scrub (a super scrub) (scrub)

(And ya not gettin' the haircut either, scrub!) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_rxlAhXO4A)

[Bernard Goetz]

This is great! - Wow though, one of those host dudes knows so little about the Beasties!

[Brass Monk]

It was a different time. It might not seem like it means anything to you, because nowadays there are so many white people in hip hop. But back then people just thought you were crazy. I wasn't as early on as Serch and Dante, or the Beasties, but going to a see PE and NWA in '88 in Oakland, it was a similar kind of thing. Maybe 2% white if that. And this wasn't even that early on. But it took a while to get mainstreamed. You think it means nothing because everything's different now, but to the people that were there, it definitely means something.

Besides, those guys are respected for so much more than that. 3rd Bass were great lyricists. And Dante did a lot of hard work in the background to help a lot of great artists shine and deserves whatever props he gets for that. No doubt he's got some bravado, but it's not like he's blowing smoke.

The first white mc's to put a legitimately ill record/music out (hold it now, hit) that rocked those aforementioned places is way, way more of an actual accomplishment and cultural achievement. Saying I was the first white boy that stepped foot there just sounds silly, we are not talking about a lunar landing.

To speak to whites liking Hip Hop in the 80's, I'm white and I've been listening to Hip Hop since I was 8 years old (in 87'). I got put onto it by black kids at summer camp. I was the only white person I knew that liked Hip Hop for about 2 years, but so what. Granted we are not talking about traveling to legendary Hip Hop locations, but the same idea applies.

If Dante and Serch want props for actual achievements, that's cool. I think they have some, but they need to stop embarrassing themselves with that argument I mentioned.

And sorry but saying that 3rd Bass were great lyricists is just a false statement. Solid, yeah. Good, maybe. Great? Not even in an alternate reality.

[Jiberish]

Perlman's got beats and it ain't no secret
Dante found his shit but you know he freaked it
And so the story goes on and on
Down in SD50 'til the early morning

[tt5brevisited]

Thanks for sharing.

[Bernard Goetz]

Perlman's got beats and it ain't no secret
Dante found his shit but you know he freaked it
And so the story goes on and on
Down in SD50 'til the early morning

:rolleyes:

[3stooges]

The first white mc's to put a legitimately ill record/music out (hold it now, hit) that rocked those aforementioned places is way, way more of an actual accomplishment and cultural achievement. Saying I was the first white boy that stepped foot there just sounds silly, we are not talking about a lunar landing.

To speak to whites liking Hip Hop in the 80's, I'm white and I've been listening to Hip Hop since I was 8 years old (in 87'). I got put onto it by black kids at summer camp. I was the only white person I knew that liked Hip Hop for about 2 years, but so what. Granted we are not talking about traveling to legendary Hip Hop locations, but the same idea applies.

If Dante and Serch want props for actual achievements, that's cool. I think they have some, but they need to stop embarrassing themselves with that argument I mentioned.

And sorry but saying that 3rd Bass were great lyricists is just a false statement. Solid, yeah. Good, maybe. Great? Not even in an alternate reality.

Going to the store and buying tapes was one thing. Going to shows was another. Like I said people thought you were crazy. You had to have balls. So I don't think they mean it as some achievement or something. They're just saying that they weren't afraid.

It wasn't like now man. Everybody would stare and trip out on you like "what the fuck are you doing in here?" If they felt like it they'd fuck with you. I had a bottle broken over my head one time. If you've never been in that situation, I'm not surprised that you don't understand, and that it doesn't mean anything to you. In fact it makes perfect sense. But it does mean something to the people that were there. Go ahead and ask them.

I'm not saying 3rd Bass are the greatest lyricists ever of course, sure there are a lot of people who were better, but I still consider them great at it....just talking strictly lyrics.....give a listen and read them on one of those websites.....they were putting down some wicked rhymes....a lot better than just good in my opinion....I think they are pretty underrated as history goes on...there were a lot of great lyricists back then...I feel the same way about Brand Nubian, EPMD, KMD, Leaders, etc, they hardly ever get mentioned any more, unless it is some retrospective or something. But that is the nature of hip hop. It is out with the old in with the new.

[Brass Monk]

Going to the store and buying tapes was one thing. Going to shows was another. Like I said people thought you were crazy. You had to have balls. So I don't think they mean it as some achievement or something. They're just saying that they weren't afraid.

It wasn't like now man. Everybody would stare and trip out on you like "what the fuck are you doing in here?" If they felt like it they'd fuck with you. I had a bottle broken over my head one time. If you've never been in that situation, I'm not surprised that you don't understand, and that it doesn't mean anything to you. In fact it makes perfect sense. But it does mean something to the people that were there. Go ahead and ask them.

I'm not saying 3rd Bass are the greatest lyricists ever of course, sure there are a lot of people who were better, but I still consider them great at it....just talking strictly lyrics.....give a listen and read them on one of those websites.....they were putting down some wicked rhymes....a lot better than just good in my opinion....I think they are pretty underrated as history goes on...there were a lot of great lyricists back then...I feel the same way about Brand Nubian, EPMD, KMD, Leaders, etc, they hardly ever get mentioned any more, unless it is some retrospective or something. But that is the nature of hip hop. It is out with the old in with the new.

I used to listen to 3rd Bass, I am familiar with them. I think they are being forgotten because they were hardly exceptional, just trying really hard to copy what others were doing at that time in the late, late 80's (and doing a decent job of it). If your mission is just to imitate, you're not going to be remembered, particularly in that era of Hip Hop when groups and artists were so distinctive from each other. I think nostalgia is factoring in more than normal in relation to your affinity for them. You remove that nostalgia and they really are not anything beyond average in relation to their peers (and they are far inferior to the other groups you mentioned), if that. I've gone back and listened to them recently and graded purely on lyricism they are definitely not great on any level.

But on a sidenote I honestly met an old guy today who said he was a DJ in New York back in the late 50's/early 60's and swore he was the first guy ever in NYC to play a Beatles record on the radio there. I couldn't help but think of what we were talking about when I heard that. How could he possibly know that for sure and who the hell cares if it somehow it had some factual basis?

And in regards to this commentary: " If you've never been in that situation, I'm not surprised that you don't understand, and that it doesn't mean anything to you. In fact it makes perfect sense. But it does mean something to the people that were there. Go ahead and ask them."

I've been in that situation. Retreating to silly "You don't know what it's like" presumptions is humorous. If you respect someone for willingly walking into a situation where they could be assaulted, that's cool I do too. But as far as Hip Hop achievement, there's nothing there and Dante and others act like there is. As you yourself pointed out, there are thousands of scattered white boys that faced the same thing. It's just a pathetic argument.

[Brass Monk]

Going to the store and buying tapes was one thing. Going to shows was another. Like I said people thought you were crazy. You had to have balls. So I don't think they mean it as some achievement or something. They're just saying that they weren't afraid.

It wasn't like now man. Everybody would stare and trip out on you like "what the fuck are you doing in here?" If they felt like it they'd fuck with you. I had a bottle broken over my head one time. If you've never been in that situation, I'm not surprised that you don't understand, and that it doesn't mean anything to you. In fact it makes perfect sense. But it does mean something to the people that were there. Go ahead and ask them.

I'm not saying 3rd Bass are the greatest lyricists ever of course, sure there are a lot of people who were better, but I still consider them great at it....just talking strictly lyrics.....give a listen and read them on one of those websites.....they were putting down some wicked rhymes....a lot better than just good in my opinion....I think they are pretty underrated as history goes on...there were a lot of great lyricists back then...I feel the same way about Brand Nubian, EPMD, KMD, Leaders, etc, they hardly ever get mentioned any more, unless it is some retrospective or something. But that is the nature of hip hop. It is out with the old in with the new.

I used to listen to 3rd Bass, I am familiar with them. I think they are being forgotten because they were hardly exceptional, just trying really hard to copy what others were doing at that time in the late, late 80's (and doing a decent job of it). If your mission is just to imitate, you're not going to be remembered, particularly in that era of Hip Hop when groups and artists were so distinctive from each other. I think nostalgia is factoring in more than normal in relation to your affinity for them. You remove that nostalgia and they really are not anything beyond average in relation to their peers (and they are far inferior to the other groups you mentioned), if that. I've gone back and listened to them recently and graded purely on lyricism they are definitely not great on any level. (full disclosure: I do enjoy that argument, I'm a sucker for an argument that can be easily won).

But on a sidenote I honestly met an old guy today who said he was a DJ in New York back in the late 50's/early 60's and swore he was the first guy ever in NYC to play a Beatles record on the radio there. I couldn't help but think of what we were talking about when I heard that. How could he possibly know that for sure and who the hell cares if it somehow it had some factual basis?

And in regards to this commentary: " If you've never been in that situation, I'm not surprised that you don't understand, and that it doesn't mean anything to you. In fact it makes perfect sense. But it does mean something to the people that were there. Go ahead and ask them."

I've been in that situation. Retreating to silly "You don't know what it's like" presumptions is humorous. If you respect someone for willingly walking into a situation where they could be assaulted, that's cool I do too. But as far as Hip Hop achievement, there's nothing there and Dante and others act like there is. As you yourself pointed out, there are thousands of scattered white boys that faced the same thing. It's just a pathetic argument.

[3stooges]

I used to listen to 3rd Bass, I am familiar with them. I think they are being forgotten because they were hardly exceptional, just trying really hard to copy what others were doing at that time in the late, late 80's (and doing a decent job of it). If your mission is just to imitate, you're not going to be remembered, particularly in that era of Hip Hop when groups and artists were so distinctive from each other. I think nostalgia is factoring in more than normal in relation to your affinity for them. You remove that nostalgia and they really are not anything beyond average in relation to their peers (and they are far inferior to the other groups you mentioned), if that. I've gone back and listened to them recently and graded purely on lyricism they are definitely not great on any level. (full disclosure: I do enjoy that argument, I'm a sucker for an argument that can be easily won).

But on a sidenote I honestly met an old guy today who said he was a DJ in New York back in the late 50's/early 60's and swore he was the first guy ever in NYC to play a Beatles record on the radio there. I couldn't help but think of what we were talking about when I heard that. How could he possibly know that for sure and who the hell cares if it somehow it had some factual basis?

And in regards to this commentary: " If you've never been in that situation, I'm not surprised that you don't understand, and that it doesn't mean anything to you. In fact it makes perfect sense. But it does mean something to the people that were there. Go ahead and ask them."

I've been in that situation. Retreating to silly "You don't know what it's like" presumptions is humorous. If you respect someone for willingly walking into a situation where they could be assaulted, that's cool I do too. But as far as Hip Hop achievement, there's nothing there and Dante and others act like there is. As you yourself pointed out, there are thousands of scattered white boys that faced the same thing. It's just a pathetic argument.

I think you missed the beginning of my post where I said I don't think they see it as an achievement, more just like bragging about how much balls they had, or I guess, how hip they were at the time. If you think they see it as an achievement that is your perspective, but I don't see it that way coming from them, or personally either. "Hip Hop Achievement" - who even says that and what does it mean anyway? We are talking about art, self-expression (I also have a hard time with the concept of giving awards to artists, as if expression must somehow be quantified).

As for the whole "you don't know what it's like", well what else am I supposed to say, when someone is talking about something they don't know firsthand, and they are acting like they are the expert ? I am talking about my life. If they don't want to hear it, there is nothing else for us to say. Some people, it seems, are more interested in winning an argument than having a mutually enlightening discussion.

Yeah, visually, they were imitators, I can see Pete being like a Kane looking white boy and Serch like a white Heavy D I guess (ha), they were trying hard to fit in, but as lyricists I think those dudes are pretty damn original man. They have a very poetic style a lot of the time, subtleties in there you might miss on first listens, almost subliminal-type metaphors. I'm sure Pete being an English major had a strong influence on this and influenced Serch to write similar rhymes. I don't think their voices or deliveries or flows were exceptional but just on words alone I thought they were dope. You have to understand, when I said they "great lyricists", I might say that about a lot of people, I'm not saying they were kings of the scene or anything...

Nostalgia, hmm, I don't know....do I think they are better lyricists than most of the groups today ?....yeah, probably, but then I would probably say that about most of the dope lyricists back then also.

Of course we all must acknowledge, we are discussing this on the Beastie board, so it should not be surprising if people don't like 3rd Bass, because of how they dissed the Beasties in the beginning, and this is just going to influence how people perceive things. I'm not trying act like I am above anyone here, but I think I am probably one of the more objective fans here, and try to keep my discussions as objective as possible as well.

[Kid Presentable]

Dante posted here when I first joined, and he was as cool as fuck. I like the photo of him and MCA from the Gala era too.

I need to check out this podcast, I guess.

[cj hood]

Serch interview was good to. Dante was interviewed after Serch and he corrected some of Serch's 'facts.' Then yesterday on twitter, Pete Nice called out Dante about some of his 'facts' during his interview.

[Jiberish]

Dante posted here when I first joined, and he was as cool as fuck.

I remember that. I have this fever dream memory of asking the board who is Dante? And, is Pearlman the same Pearlman who is credited as "additional beats by" on hello Nasty... around 2003/early2004.

Dante actually responded and said something like "Oh shit. I'm Dante. I had no idea they called me out in that lyric. Thanks" or something like that. I have not been able to find it on the board though. Does anybody else have trouble with the search engine here?

Now I really don't know if I made this up or not. But the basic point is I remember my dealings with him on the board he was cool as fuck. Besides that DE LA SOUL.

[Brass Monk]

As for the whole "you don't know what it's like", well what else am I supposed to say, when someone is talking about something they don't know firsthand, and they are acting like they are the expert ? I am talking about my life. If they don't want to hear it, there is nothing else for us to say. Some people, it seems, are more interested in winning an argument than having a mutually enlightening discussion.



You are supposed to realize that you really don't know me and I really don't know you. I am honestly enjoying the dialogue we are having but you getting things seriously twisted right there.

Also no one is objective in these types of discussions.

I am being sincere in saying that I used to listen to 3rd Bass. The fact that they had that feud didn't keep me from listening. I still listen to them from time to time but it's 95% nostalgia as far as the enjoyment from listening for me. As far there lyricism goes, they may compare favorably with the norm of today's Hip Hop lyricism, but they do not compare favorably with the Hip Hop artists that followed them in the 90's. In fact they get smoked by them, that's just how it is (by no means does this not also apply to the Beastie Boys but they still were able to make mostly ill albums and tracks despite a simpler 80's era flow). But I do consider 3rd Bass to be an interesting part of the Beastie universe and it's endlessly fun to compare them for me.

As far as admiring someone simply for having balls or being some kind of a martyr, that has little to do with art or culture. But on a certain level I do get what you're saying about going into a hostile environment because of your love of an art. But I don't differentiate these fellas from the thousands of other scattered white Hip Hop fans (and a lesser number of Hip Hop performers that happen to also include the Beastie Boys) that have gone through the same thing as far taking abuse simply for racial reasons. Maybe Dante and Serch are not claiming an achievement, but they certainly seem to be attempting to take credit for something when there is no legitimate credit to be had.

We'll obviously never agree, but I appreciate the conversation.

Here some more cool Dante content that was probably posted on another thread but here it is again:

http://www.complex.com/music/2012/05/dante-ross-picks-12-great-mca-songs/

[3stooges]

You are supposed to realize that you really don't know me and I really don't know you. I am honestly enjoying the dialogue we are having but you getting things seriously twisted right there.


Well since you are a bit younger, that made me skeptical...cause in the bay area, and LA (my experience), by the early nineties, shows had gotten pretty mainstreamed (lots of white people). It happened fast. Maybe it was different in different cities but that was my experience.

Actually if you listen to those parts of the interviews, it doesn't even really sound like they are bragging. The guys are just answering questions about who they remember being around at the time. It seems like the interviewer is more interested in the subject than they are.

[Brass Monk]

Actually if you listen to those parts of the interviews, it doesn't even really sound like they are bragging. The guys are just answering questions about who they remember being around at the time. It seems like the interviewer is more interested in the subject than they are.

Good point, more apparent upon a 2nd listen.