Gaining respect in the hip-hop game is hard enough when you're a new artist, but gaining respect on an independent level as well is a huge feat for any artist to accomplish. In the case of Jurassic 5, they strangely acquired huge amounts of respect from both areas off of the buzz of their first album in 1997. Each of the artists in the group were equally important pieces to the puzzle. A puzzle that disbanded just a few months ago. However, Chali 2na, who arguably stood out from the rest of the group with his baritone voice and intense lyricism, was already working on his debut solo album, Fish Outta Water.

Now putting the finishing touches on Fish Outta Water and doing numerous collaborations with artists that span across various genres, things are clearly looking up for Chali 2na, who is still closely holding on to his first love of painting.

Aaron Frank sits down with ex-Jurassic 5 member Chali 2na to discuss the break-up of the legendary group, how his love of painting translates in to his music, his new solo album, the business of music and much more.

AF: So, your publicist said you were in the studio earlier working on some things. How is Fish Outta Water coming along so far?

Chali 2na: It's coming along cool, man. It seems like every time I try and put finishing touches on what I have, something else pops up that I just can't turn down. The other day, I had the opportunity to chill with Rakim and it was just crazy because he heard that I was doing the solo album and wanted to know how he could get down. So, I was bugged out on that man. Stuff like that happens and you just have to indulge.

AF: This is a huge project for you as a solo artist. With this album in particular, would you say you're a perfectionist when it comes down to recording?

Chali 2na: Definitely. I'm a perfectionist as it is and sometimes it slows me down. I think perfection is something that will never be reached, but it's good to strive for, to try and make sure that your project is tight as it can be and that's kind of the mission that I'm on.

AF: So when do you think we will be able to see that in stores?

Chali 2na: My plan is to have it ready by the end of the year, but that's in a perfect world. It may be a little bit later than that, but I'm just trying to make sure that it's done. It's good to have that freedom and the opportunity to go all out though.

AF: You draw a lot of inspiration from the pioneers of hip-hop. Were you able to get any of them to come in and work with you on this?

Chali 2na: Well, Rakim was probably the first real pioneer dude on the solo album. I've worked with cats like Anthony Hamilton, Raphael Saadiq, Beenie Man, and Stephen Marley before, but this was probably the first real pioneer to get down. I was chillin with Grandmaster Caz and he wanted to do some stuff, but I just haven't been able to get together with him yet. That might work though.

AF: We know you've got that respect for R&B and Reggae, so is that the type of feel and instrumentation we can look forward to on the album?

Chali 2na: It's hip-hop definitely, but my inspiration is drawn from, like you said, R&B, Reggae, Salsa, a lot of world rhythms and stuff like that. There's a type of dance music down in Brazil right now called Funkee that me and Will.I.Am were messing with and the track that we made together just came out crazy. I have to make an album that feels right for my ear though, so hopefully it feels right to the people listening to it.

AF: Can you tell us anymore about the project you're working on with AZ and Casual from Hiero. How did that whole situation develop?

Chali 2na: Basically, we were touring with Dan the Automator in California, but we didn't have a tour bus yet so we drove these rental cars from the Bay to San Luis Obispo. Casual and AG were sitting in the back. We were talking about how much recording we were going to have to do on the bus, because I had brought my ProTools with me. So, that conversation turned in to us making 3 or 4 songs as the week progressed. It came about like that, so we were tossing around different names and one day we were in the hotel. We had ordered some food and when they knocked on the door, they said "Room Service," so I was like, "That's what we should call it." And that's basically how the project came about.

AF: What's the status of that whole project?

Chali 2na: Right now, we've probably got a good 5 or 6 songs recorded that we really like. We're just going to record the project and then figure out when it's going to come out. Dan the Automator is involved with it as well, and it's really just something we were doing for fun and it's snowballing now, so it's got some good momentum. I'm really just hoping people will enjoy the tracks that we made. The first song is called "Its Got A Name" and it's basically embracing the pain and struggles that people have to go through in their life, but then they try to hide it.

AF: Can you tell us anything about the work that you've been doing with the band, Galactic, from Louisiana?

Chali 2na: Wow, that's me right there. I just keep it moving, because I like to work. I've done stuff with Gift of Gab and David Byrne. That's a crazy collaboration right there. I think it's called "The Contrast Between Good and Evil." It's pretty ill, but I've also done some songs with Supernatural. You're going to see me on a lot of different things. I did some stuff with Raashan Ahmad from Crown City Rockers. Me and Z-Trip just did a song for the video game, All Pro 2k8.

AF: With all these collaborations you've got going on now, do you feel like the break-up of J5 is going to be more beneficial to your solo career in the long run?

Chali 2na: Well, I was going to do solo stuff whether the group stayed together or not. Any of us doing solo stuff was never a factor in us breaking up. We stayed together and broke up under different circumstances involving us personally. It wasn't anything outward like that. It remains to be seen though whether it's going to be good for my solo career or not. I can't really say that right now, because I'm just going to go out and make music. Truthfully, in the beginning and the end, it's all about making good music to me. I'm a painter at heart and all of this music is by-products of me embracing hip-hop through painting. So, I approach all of my music through that detailed mind state trying to pull out that audio picture. I've always done music from a perspective of just trying to make the best thing that I can at the time. It's not necessarily limited to the group or that genre of music or whatever. It's just me trying to make music.

AF: Would you say that the details and just having everything fit as a whole is the biggest similarity between painting and music?

Chali 2na: Yeah, for me it is. Art is art whether it's visual or audio, in my opinion. You can capture a person's attention through images or you can paint images with sound, so that's kind of where I stand. A lot of people might not view it the way I view it right now, but in all actuality, I'm a very detailed painter. In essence, that's how I think my style is. It's technical and I'll have the whole double entendre type thing. That's me, so that's how my paintings are and so does my art. That's the similarity within myself.

AF: Throughout most of your career, you've had a lot of respect on the whole independent side of the game. Are there any new underground artists that you have a lot of respect for?

Chali 2na: Wow, its so many dudes out there right now. I'm feeling J Dilla's little brother, Illa Jay. I like Black Milk, Sean Price, Supernatural. There's so many artists out there on the independent level. Big up to people like Immortal Technique, Murs, Atmosphere. There's so many people that are going to be able to get the respect that they deserve now, because of what the industry has evolved in to.

AF: Do you see people at the labels giving artists more freedom and signing new and different artists?

Chali 2na: Well, it depends on where you stand, man. Labels are almost a thing of the past and they know it, so they're scrambling for the formulas that they know work, as opposed to trying new stuff. Nobody is really selling records anymore. It's more about trying to sell a brand or maintaining a career in a business that's failing right now. Because of the internet and things like that, kids want the song that they want right then and there. They don't want the album, so a lot of people aren't really buying records and even when they're buying online, they're just buying the songs that they like. So, the climate of the industry is dictating a bad environment for conservative cats who are at the labels trying to control the music business. These are the 50 and 60 year old dudes telling the teenagers what's fresh. At the same time, this change has built a great climate for the independent artists, who can cut out the middle man and get directly to the fans. So, like I said, it's cool in a lot of ways, but it just depends on where you stand.

AF: Don't you see the labels catching up to it eventually though? They're already out there signing cats off of YouTube and stuff like that.

Chali 2na: Right, but the labels are really trying to just get more in to the merchandise side of the artist, as opposed to just selling records, because they know that records aren't selling anymore. So how absurd is that? Having a clause in your contract where they get a certain percentage of your merchandise, when in the past merchandise and shows have been the bread and butter for a lot of artists. That's how they're going to respond. They're just trying to get in to your pocket in other ways. They understand that it's a brand thing, so nowadays it seems like they're going get in to all aspects of what the artist is involved in, as opposed to just selling another CD.