Aaliyah Archives: Da Bassment Interview Part 2

So y'all know I had to do a special blog post for the late, great Static Major. On the 11th of this month marked his 40th Birthday. So as a special tribute, we shall be giving you part 2 of Da Bassment interview courtesy of Trevor Banks who happened to kindly share this. It was also Devante's idea to keep us feenin' for more! ;) So if you missed the first part of the interview you can check it out here. Happy reading everyone! :o)

DA BASSMENT PT.2 Interview...

1. When was the first time you tasted success?

Static Major: Man Ummm.. When I first tasted success was after me being in the game for 6 or 7 years. At that point it started feeling like a job.

2. Now are you going to try and get into a competition with R. Kelly?

Static Major: Yeah .. definitely. I feel like he really is my only competition. I'm not taking anything away from the newbies coming up, but they aren't as seasoned as i am. Most artists call me up to write or do the song for them. Myself, I'm self contained, and it don't really matter who does a track for me whether its Timbaland, Scott Storch,Jim Jonsin ,or a no name producer. At the end of the day it boils down to just doing the track.

3. What happened with Blackground as far as Playa's second album is concerned?

Smoke E Digglera: We never did sign with Blackground. Blackground was our management. We were signed to Def Jam on our first album. We ended up getting off of Def Jam, and from there we started working on the new album with the aspirations of getting signed to another label. We felt like it wouldn't be a huge problem getting signed again. Blackground probably would of signed us as a group, but we never got around to that. I mean , we did work on an album, but Playa ended up going on the road with the Ladies Night Out Tour. After that, everyone started working on their solo albums. 

4. Why was there a fallout with Da Bassment. Was it because DeVante was trying to be an artist, producer, songwriter and a CEO at the same time?

Bazaar Royale (Da Boogieman) : I really don't know, I was too young to know what was happening. To me, everything was moving along just fine as far as I could see. Didn't really know the business aspect of it. But I did have fun.

5. Did you record any joints back then? 

Bazaar Royale ( Da Boogieman): Yeah, I had a few joints out back then. We recorded all the time. Da Bassment was our job, and we were like on some Motown shit, for real.

6. I heard if DeVante was to walk in the building you had to have something hot cookin?

Digital Black (of Playa): Most definitely...There was always something dope going on, cuz everybody was talented. You might go in one room, Stevie J would be cookin something. Go in another room, Timbaland, Sugah, Magoo ect.. would be cookin something. Come in our room, Playa would be cookin something, Everybody was getting on each other's tracks. Missy & Timbaland were way ahead of their time. It was a great situation to be in for all of us...

And there you have it! To view the rest of Bank's article, with a special Tribute mix show of Aaliyah, you can find it here via http://inet6thestar.blogspot.com

Aaliyah: Da Bassment 20 Year Anniversary

So as you all know, Da Bassment crew was where it all started for such artists like Aaliyah, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Magoo, Playa, Ginuwine etc... If it wasn't for this movement during the 90's we would not of had/have such great iconic people to look up to. Anyone who was raised during that time, already knows the deal when it comes to anything during that era. The music back then was so influential and impacted everything, from what we wore, being socially/politically aware and paving the way for more female artists in both the Hip-Hop and R&B genre. 

Since I love to read interviews I happened to come across one which Trevor Banks kindly shared with me. I'm sure the majority of my American readers will know who he is, but for all my other folks out there, Trevor Banks is an Artist/DJ Anchor of Inet6 WSTR Radio. Now...this is a very special interview which took place between 2006–2008 on Banks radio show back in college, where he interviewed the whole Playa crew members – Static Major, Smoke E. Digglera and Digital Black. So without further a due, peep the interview below and have a happy read! :o)  

In 1994, at Andrew's in building in Rochester,NY, DeVante of Jodeci formed a collective called Da Bassment . The collective consisted of artists: Sista, Timbaland & Magoo, Accion, Ginuwine, Sugah, Playa, Nikki Bonz, Traedonya, Renee Anderson,Reboc, Pretty Boy, Mr Brendal, Da Boogieman,Dante Hawkins, Sarah Jo Martin, Stevie J, Derek DeGrate,Virginia Williams, Darryl Pearson, Reggi Moore, Lamar Mitchell,  and of course Jodeci. Timbaland surely mentioned Pharrell & Larry Live who were in a group together with Magoo called SBI. I also heard Malice & Pusha T were hanging around them in Da Bassment days. Da Bassment recorded several songs for soundtracks such as Dangerous Minds & Nutty Professor. Unfortunately the collective split and went on to record music as solo artists or groups. 20 years later they are still putting out music. In this blog post we are celebrating Da Bassment's 20 Year Anniversary. 

Da Bassment Interview:

1. Who Influenced you musically?

Static Major: Project Pat, Lil Flip, UGK, Lil Wayne. I listen to street music. The streets influence me.

Smoke E Digglera: I'd have to say one of major influences would be DeVante Swing of Jodeci. Also Take 6 & John P Kee.

Digital Black: My influences first would be my father and brother. Others would be Donny Hathaway, Al Green, Bobby Womack (RIP),Ron Isley, and Jodeci.

2. How did you meet DeVante of Jodeci?

Bazaar Royale (aka Da Boogieman): I just ran into the dude, he was with Timbaland and all them cats. Walked right up to De and said "WSUP" . I did my freestyle type thing, he liked, and he gave me his contact info.

Playa: Singing for DeVante, backstage at the Jodeci concert.

3. How were Da Bassment days?

Bazaar Royale (aka Da Boogieman): For me it was dope. It was like a college for artists.

Trevor Banks: Stevie J said the same thing.

Static Major: Oh maaan .. It was like music school. We all lived in the same apartment building. The studio was like within walking distance of the apartments. We were over there all day everyday.

Trevor Banks: That was in Andrew's Building in Rochester,NY?

Static Major: That's right!

Smoke E Digglera: Maan , it was just like any first phase of trying to get in where you fit in, it was raw. It was definitely a situation you could look back on and say "That was beautiful". You begin to appreciate the fact that certain things don't happen overnight. Seeing it first hand from a genius like DeVante was, as well as a multi platinum writer/producer/artist. De gave us the opportunity to work on our craft , and to get in where we fit in.

Digital Black: Yeah! it was definitely like a college. It was where me, Static, and Smoke honed in on our skills. DeVante was the type of cat that he let you learn by doing, not just watching. All of us had our own studio room, and it was just a blessing. It was like living a dream. Where one of your idols sign you, ya know. That is where we met Timbo, Missy, and Ginuwine. We all lived together for about 4 or 5 years. I have no hard feelings from that experience. Don't believe the VH1 Driven story..

4. How did the group get its name 'Playa'?

Smoke E Digglera: Hmmm ( as he sips from Hennessy & Pepsi ) That would be DeVante, just from us kickin it, sitting around listening to music, and getting to know one another. So De said "You know what, ya'll some lil playas maan, for real". So he goes "That is the name of the group...PLAYA"

Trevor Banks: What was the name of the group before Playa?

Static/Major: It was still the same guys, but locally we were called 'Touch Of Class'.

To be continued..... (We will try to add more from Da Bassment members down the road.. SO STAY TUNED) 

(Source– http://inet6thestar.blogspot.com)

Damn it! Just as I was getting into it! Lol! Nice way to keep us wanting more though! ;) My favorite part had to be when they mentioned how Playa formed their name, since I have always been curious to know that, so thank you for clearing that up :o) To read the remaining parts where Banks shares some of his mixes, unreleased tracks and demos from Da Bassment crew, click on the link above where you will be pleasantly surprised! You can also get in contact with Trevor Banks via his Blog, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.