This is Tene’ with Real Talk Interviews from HipHopClub. Our featuring artist is Killah Priest of the Wu Tang Clan. Yes, I said Killah Priest. If you think that you don’t know who Killah Priest is, you do, you’ve just never recognized it. Killah Priest is the MC that brought us the timeless classic “B.I.B.L.E” (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) along with classic collaborations that gave birth to “4th Chamber” featuring GZA, Ghostface and Prince Rakeem, and “Don’t You Know” with the much missed Old Dirty Bastard, just to name a few. This is all before he hit us with his debut solo album that sold 200,000 copies strong, debuting on the pop charts at #24 named Heavy Mental in 1998. If you thought he disappeared after his sophomore album View from Masada in the year 2000 then you’ve been sleepin. It’s now 2006 and after releasing four albums between 2001 and 2005 Killah Priest is ringing the alarm to wake up the Universe in 2006 with The Offering.

I want to begin by you describing what it was like growing up for you in Brooklyn, New York for all of our readers over here in the Midwest?
Priest: BK, to me is one of the realest spots in NY. For me growing up there it was a lot of culture. BK was like one of the most beautiful places to come from. Especially for a rapper and HipHop in general. We had kats like Big Daddy Kane who lived way up the block, Jay Z and Biggie lived between St.James on Gates, I lived on Gates. Then there was GZA and Old Dirty Bastard…GZA lived on my block and ODB lived in another part of Brooklyn in Crown Hieghts. It was a lot of poverty, a lot of real shit.

A lot of your fans want to know if you’ll be involved in the Wu Tang Clan Reunion shows that are gonna be hittin the states pretty soon.
Priest: Yea definitely, I’m definitely gonna be at some of the shows you know. Imma be on the East Coast and try and get to the West. I been talking wit GZA and all of ‘em tryin to get in. But who knows, who knows you might see me and hear me like I judge wisely cause nothing ever surprise me(4 Chambers), you know.

So are you saying that the beef that caused your disassociation with the Wu is the past is now resolved?
Priest: Well right now you know, I always been doing my own thing you know and everybody is chillin; I see everybody here and there, but you know I guess yea, that’s a coo term you can definitely call that because I never had beef wit none of the clan members. The only member who I had problems with was RZA in the past and that’s just because you know he would say things and well, he was getting his money and you know I just felt that…like a lot of artists and a lot of people out there were telling me that you know, I wasn’t getting enough shine and it wasn’t because I wasn’t nice on the mic it was just because, you know RZA being a head of the Clan at the time he felt that it wasn’t my time.

That being said, is it true that your verses were being cut of certain tracks and you were left out of videos?
Priest: Definitely, I did. Yea I did so many verses on uh….Wu Tang Forever and RZA just came in and started, like “Yo, take that off…take that off…take that off”. Like you know, like it was something inside of him I don’t know. And it wasn’t like the verses weren’t hot, it was bangin you know. Everybody was lovin the verses whoever heard ‘em and stuff like that and he just was like “Yo, take ‘em off”, for no apparent reason.

Why did you want to be an MC?
Priest: I guess hearing it, you know I was always into poetry and shit like that and Hearing it for the first time that dudes you know, could make money and be making mixtapes. I peeped ‘em live and talked to ‘em. I was always fascinated with that type of movement (HipHop)

A lot of critics see you as a religious and militant MC? Where does your philosophy come from?
Priest: My philosophy comes from different sorts of life. It comes from all walks of life. It comes from my experience, it comes from spiritual uplifting and also it comes from just the streets; it comes from life itself. Mostly the spiritual; my grandmother talking to me. She brought me to church and you know I was never religious but I got into the spiritual part of it.

That being said in your opinion what is the difference between religion and spirituality?
Priest: Religion is something man based you nahmean. Man made religion and I feel it divides people that’s why I said that in B.I.B.L.E you know, religion divides. You look at the word it steams from the greek work religio which means to divide. Being more spiritutal is being in tune with your inner soul, knowning that God dwells into you, so it’s not a man made thing you know. It comes from outer space and we are; it comes from the atmosphere. It comes from within.

So what is the science behind the name Killah Priest?
Priest: It was between 60second and RZA you nahmean I’m dropping a lotta killers out there now so I’m just trying to drop Killah, you can just call me Priest, Priesthood, or I got a couple of more names. I’m known as Work…(laughin)…, puttin in work.

So you’ve dropped the Killah off your name?
Priest: Probably after this album you nahmean I held that so long now you know, I’m a grown man now. Now I’m just feel a Priest.

What’s the science behind the name of your upcoming 2006 album The Offering?
Priest: The Offering is my giving…at first I was going to call it The Priest Offering and the priest offering is what I’m offering listeners. I’m offering listeners everything that they could possibly wish for in a album. So I’m giving them everything for real HipHopheads the thirstin. You know I’m not trying to go after radio, I’m just making good music.

Has your production team changed at all? Is Killuminati still producing for you?
Priest: Killuminati, naw, well, I’ve dealt with Killuminati so he’s been back and forth. Imma have something dropping from that camp also you nahmean. Like a album that I did but never really dropped but I got a lotta crew in it. The producers is my producers called God’s Wrath and we’re gonna put somethin together called Weapons of Mass Destruction and that’s gonna be my production team. It’s gonna be starring God’s Wrath you know, cause I brought them in and they just heavy you nahmean. I brought them into the Black Market project and they work with several artists that I work with now. My man Shakim, Magnetic, SaneOne, he’s from Vegas based out on that coast and there’s a whole lotta kats I got involved and they’re doin their thing.

Who are you doing collabos with on The Offering?
Priest: This is my first time, an amazing time working with Nas. It was good getting Nas on the album, you know Nas came through and blessed me. And Immortal Technique, Cannibus you know my Horsemen Cannibus and Ras Kas so the album is packed wit heavy weight MCs, so it’s gonna be fun.

Is your album going to be released through a major label or independently?
Priest: Right now I’m leaning towards Universal but it depends on what label I sign for but it’s gonna be signed real quick cause I got the offers. The offers are definitely there for The Offering.

Give our readers a reason why they should go cop The Offering when it drops this year and not download it?
Priest: Man, defininatly go buy this album and help support me to make more albums…(laughin)…you nahmean, make sure yal get Priest to get a house..(laughin)… Naw, being honest wit ‘em is that, this album is a classic, is a must have. get the real package because youu’ve gotta get this album because the ablum cover is gonna be so bananas. Even my album cover, everything I worked on for this album came from scratch. And it’s like I wanted to make it a double but it’s gonna have some bonuses and some good stuff in there for you nahmean.

You boast about being everybody’s favorite MC list. Who are your favorite MC’s?
Priest: My favorite MCs? Can I included myself? (laughin) Naw, but my favorite MC’s are the greats; Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Slick Rick, Rakim, Pac, Biggie, Big Pun…a lot of people forget about Big Pun. For the new kats I love Cannibus, RasKas, Nas and Immortal Tequnique. I like all the dudes that make a difference…and Deck, that’s it.

A lot of MC’s these days are about having fun and they’re making money off of being commercial and having nothing to say. Why have you never crossed over?
Priest: Uhm, I just don’t feel the need to you nahmean it’s not in my blood to do that. I love HipHop too much for that you know, it’s just the love for it. I just don’t make that type of music you know. I make music for the soul. I can, I could make that type you nahmean it’s HipHop but I just stick to the grain.

Would you ever want to get involved in the movie business like the GZA has with writing scores and acting?
Priest: Yea, I did some feature and they’re coming soon. Also I’m writing a movie and a book. That’s what I’m doin right now.

Wow, can you tell us a little bit more about that or do we just have to wait?
Priest: Yea, you’ll have to wait on that…shit. It’s gonna be on some notha level shit.

Do you think that HipHop is gonna return back to the basic like it was back in the Slick Rick days or do you think HipHop is just going to get more commercial?
Priest: Well naw, I think that everything is a circle. I think that the Universe is to limitless not to go back around you know what I mean? It’s true, I mean …the Earth is a full circle I think that it just evolves and I’m ready for the evolvement and that’s what I’m planning in my work, in my music. And The Offering is gonna be a revolving and a deep, in a notha way and its gonna be a evolving cause it’s not just gonna come around its gonna evolve even greater than it was before.

Do you see a difference in the underground scene now than how it was back in the day?
Priest: I think that kats are making money off it now and there’s a little bit more exposure now. That they’re not tryin to be…see, back in the days you wanted to try to be on the radio but they tryin to make they own radio now, making they own labels.

What do you think about the notion that NY has fell off in the game and is being taken over by the south?
Priest: Honestly I like what they’re doing in the South. I feel that we should give back to HipHop from what we took you know. We should give back to HipHop since it started out here and I’m not mad at the southern kats I think they’re doing their thing, there doing good beats, their concepts and things like that, it’s all good. I am upset at is that NY is not being as original anymore. They’re being repetitive, they gotta switch up, you know. Back in the day you had a Puffy and all that hoggin the radio and they just played the same ole thing so now something different is comin in which is Southern music and it’s taking over the airwaves.

So with The Offering are going to be bringing us something different?
Priest: Totally different, The offering is gonna be an album straight for Hip Hop and it’s got so many different dimensions I don’t even know what to call it. The style style of it, you know. It’s like Heavy Mental but a step up cause I got all types of elements in there.

What’s your view on the increase of white people supporting militant artisits like yourself and dead prez, do you think they grasp what youre talking about or just following an underground trend?
Priest: Naw, naw they’re grasping what we’re sayin. I’ve had fans who were white give me and recommend me books and at the same time black one’s too. They grasp it. It’s Universal. I’m tryin to wake up the Universe you nahmean and I want my people to listen as well as all people. This is for all people you know. This is to wake up the Universe man. This album is definitely for the soul you know. So if you got a soul, then you’ll know, but I wouldn’t do nothing without hittin my people first.

Every deep individual has a light side so I have a few questions about the lighter side of Priest.
Priest: Go head.

If you and your homeboys could live through one movie where the characters originally die what would it be?
Priest: Where the characters originally die?....me and my homeboys through a movie?....damn, I wanna say David and Golath.

Why is that? Priest: Cause them niggas is God Kings, the world will remember them niggas man.

Name one book that you would recommend for your fans to read.
Priest: They Came Before Columbus (by Ivan Van Sertima)

What do think about Bush?
Priest: uhh…Bush is an idiot.

Name three people dead or alive that you would like to work with?
Priest: I’d love to work with Rakim, Sade & Lauren Hill