Pitch Black has opened for heavyweights like Jay-Z, DMX, Cash Money, Lil’ Kim, Big Pun, MJG & 8 Ball, Trick Daddy, Luke, Redman and Method Man and Mobb Deep, and they’ve recorded songs with Lord Finesse, Wylcef, Kool G. Rap and Nas. Earlier this year, the group dropped their own mixtape Pitch Black Season hosted by DJ K-Slay, and then in December 2002, Universal snatched them up. Now as the summer approaches, Pitch Black plans to bring the heat with their debut Pitch Black Law boasting beats by Swizz Beats, Premier, Teddy Riley and Tone from The Trackmasters and guest appearances from Wyclef, Busta Rhymes and Foxy Brown.
How did you all get together?
GOD: Me, Fast and DG are cousins. We grew up together. Devious is also from the neighborhood in Bushwick. He used to go around rhyming on the block. We were feeling him. Zakee got in the group through Roberto Alvarado, our first manager.
Zakee: It goes beyond rap with us. We’re like brothers. We argue and laugh all day, everyday. It’s not just about the music and business.
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What is Pitch Black?
GOD: Pitch Black is a book with a lot of chapters in it, and the album is the first chapter. We coming on one level but we have other levels to come on. This is just staking our claim and laying down Pitch Black Law, which is the title of the album. This is just our way of kicking in the door and letting everyone know who we are. The album is real hard. We’ve got something for the ladies, clubs and streets.
Zakee: We stand firm. Devious is hardcore like MOP, G Rap. GOD is conscious with some street. DG tells stories. Fast talks about cars and money, the fast life. Me, you never know what’s going to come out of my mouth. We’re five styles but have a solid foundation. Our motto is, Nobody’s going to help you if you ain’t helping yourself. When people see you take the initiative to do what you have to do, people are more likely to help you and put their all into it being that you’re putting your all into it. We feel strong about what we do. We have faith and we believe in our music and us as a company. It’s us before anything.
Fast: 5 MCs in one. We give you a little bit of all your hot rappers: Jay, MOP, all that in one.
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How did you hook up with Universal Records?
GOD: We met up with Kedar [Massenberg, Motown President/CEO] and he heard the music and felt the vibe of the group. They believed in us enough to take a chance.
Fast: Universal’s a lovely label to be on with Nelly, Cash Money, a lot of heavy hitters. It separates the boys from the men.
Has life changed since you got signed?
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Zakee: Things are still the same. It hasn’t hit us yet. We’re still carrying on our everyday business, at the office at 10 AM.
How did you guys get to be on concert bills with such big names?
GOD: My managers reached out to a lot of people. We did a ton of networking. Basically, everybody knows somebody that knows somebody else. It was just a grind. Also, a big thing is one of my managers threw a lot of these shows himself through Top Choice Productions.
You also have a lot of big names on your debut.
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GOD: We do a lot of networking. You can get to anyone you want if you really put enough effort forth. In the beginning, a lot of these producers might have done it just for the money but once they meet us and they see we’re competent, they see they could work with us because we do good work. After we met all these people, we formed good relationships. And now they feel us just as much as we feel them. It’s love. It’s not like it’s just a business thing.
What is the difference between your label, Travio Records and Top Choice Productions?
GOD: Travio Records is an extension of Top Choice Productions. Top Choice is the party promotion unit and Travio is the record label.
Are there other artists on Travio?
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GOD: We have an 11-year-old rapper named Lil Nene and two R&B artists, Rachel from Bronx and Keisha Richardson from Brooklyn.
Do you have a favorite song on your CD?
GOD: “To Be The Best.” “You got to challenge the best, you got to handle the stress, you got to deal with the test.” That’s what we’re trying to do.
Fast: Yeah that’s one of mine too. Right now the stages we’re going through, war and killings. This song just describes the good times. It’s a good summer day song.
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Do you think hip-hop is in a state-of-emergency?
Fast: Hip-hop is in a state-of-emergency because it’s saturated with a bunch of nonsense. As Pitch Black we’re trying to clear it up a little bit.
Zakee: I don’t like a lot of the artists out now but I feel hip-hop is still at a good state because it’s expanding. A lot of people are getting jobs, money, feeding families. We’re all over. People are hearing our voice. Hip-hop is the voice of America’s youth. Everybody’s hearing our voice now. A lot of the people aren’t really saying anything or contributing to the art form, but at the same time the people that are, are being heard.
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