UM: Hi this is Úna from the Event Guide, I’m calling from Dublin…
CW: Yo I’m doubling too.
CW: I’m so up/I’m so ready/Foot’s on my chest makes my breath so heavy.
UM: How are the shows going?
CW: I stay doin’ shows/I’m the type of cat that go and fill/If I’m on the grill with skill/Who you know that the show better?/My flow vendetta is health/I’ve got a show with atmosphere on February the 12th/I wish you was here coz I would definitely invite you/you’d come to the front row and I’d light you.
UM: So that’s good then?
CW: Sound good/I got a good ten/From the hood then/But I got skills that makes the wood bend.
UM: Have you done any of the overseas dates yet?
CW: I only went to Europe for just like a little bit/And I smashed it/I think it was with Fat Milk-fluid/My man Bo reppin’ that/I came through with the weapon locked under the hat/You know the flame that’s insane in the core of my brain?
UM: How do the audiences compare to those in the States?
CW: Well the States is a typical situation – it’s real rude/We don’t appreciate music here like we don’t appreciate food/That we waste and abuse doin’ things we use/But when I go over places, it’s like, so cool/Coz they show respect like no neglect.
UM: How did you get involved with Def Jux?
CW: With Def Jux I’m keeping my rap style healthy/Brother to that cat, El-P/I was on Cannibal Ox record, it was first for years/And El started in the same studio, the same place we were at/That’s where El started doin’ his tracks/When he had music without words, and I was spittin’ that fire/And I had most cats callin’ me solid/Said, I want you to spearhead the movement/I said, no doubt, why not?/Sign the dots/So here I am, spittin’ is slim/Doin’ the interview on the phone with my female friend from Dublin.
UM: You were meant to sign with Sony and Def Jam. What happened?
CW: Oh yeah man, but they blew up the towers/The World Trade Centre has been and gone/And the label wasn’t interested in even the dopest song/They say, ‘we can’t hire you because it’s scary/We’re goin’ through a fight with Mariah Carey’/I’m like, ‘What up Tommy Matola?’/So Def Jam died, and Sony was denied/So I had to go back to the street life/And I was so caught up like Mariah on that deal/My hustling did me wrong – I did 6 months fo’ real/And still, I aint drop nothin’. But then every other month, I dropped a single. I said I need Def Jux.
UM: How do you feel about your album, Ravipops, now that it has been out a while?
CW: I think Ravipops is the ultimate testament/The one where I was most able to experiment/It’s who I am from a hip-hop point of view/It’s crazy, in fact/I’m right here doing an interview and I’m on track.
(At this point, C-Rayz disappears to the sounds of what seems like a large-sish party in the background. Bear in mind that it’s 11am New York time. He returns and apologises, gives his reasons, and his rapping skills deteriorate slightly for the rest of the interview. )
UM: What would you be doing if you weren’t an MC?
CW: To be real, I’d be right downtown with a gat.
UM: Who do you look up to as emcees?
CW: The real artists, all the cats like Bismark-E.
UM: What can the Irish fans expect from the show?
CW: The Irish fans expect and respect the show and I’m feelin’ that. We’ll kill it. It’ll be like the whole IRA army is there. I’m about to go thirty songs. I’ll be called marathon man. Reason. Hitting them with the rhyme right.
