In one of his most in-depth interviews ever, Cormega opens up about Nas, Nature, his friendship with Ron Artest, the independent grind, The Firm, his up-coming 3-hour documentary and much more.

Cormega on modern day Hip-Hop production: "Am I getting too old for this shit? Is rap passing me by? Or is this shit just really that wack?"

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Jay Rose: What’s good Mega?

Cormega: I’m chillin.

JR: Word, where you calling from?

C: ...the crib right now, just chillin man.

JR: Queens?

C: Man I been out in Queens. I’m at the secret bat-cave.

JR: So how’s life for Cormega these days?

C: I mean life is pretty good. Everyday is a challenge man. Everyday’s a challenge. It’s a lot of work, but I can’t complain. It could be worse.

JR: What's more satisfying for you, success on the underground or mainstream level?

C: Um, I don’t know man. It depends. I mean being on stage is most satisfying for me and knowing that I did something the fans appreciate is most satisfying for me.

JR: You’ve recorded a lot of material throughout your career. Which album is personally your favorite?

C: My new album that’s not done yet. It’s coming along dope. I got Havoc on there. Me, Havoc, and Tragedy. Got a song with KRS-1, Kane, PMD and Red Alert. That’s probably my favorite song that I was ever apart of. I got a track produced by Pete Rock, Ayatollah. I mean the production list is ridiculous. The album is just real. It’s my favorite album thus far. Out of my other albums. Umm. It’s a tough one man. I have a sentiment with each album. Like The Realness. Like the Testament was the first album that I’ve ever recorded, so that album you know got a special place in my heart. You know it never came out, but it was supposed to come out. Then The Realness, which was my first album that ever came out. That was the album that put me on the map. And the True Meaning that’s the album that got me a Source award, it got me an Impact award, like that’s the album that got me recognition. So The True Meaning is the album that shows growth. And the Realness is like… energy. You know what I’m saying, so it’ll probably be one of those two. I just don’t know which one. Albums are like your children. You know what I’m saying. You love them all, but one of them might make you more proud in certain ways, but you love them all.

JR: Can you explain the delayed release of The Testament?

C: I put it out independently a couple years ago, but I didn’t go crazy with the promotion. I just threw it out because the way I see it, people already got it. It was one of the most bootlegged albums in history. You know what I’m saying everybody had it. To be honest with you the bootleg was better than the one I put out because the bootleg had more songs. It is what it is.

JR: Yea I definitely had that album before it came out.

C: Haha a confession of a bootlegger.

JR: Haha I’m gonna cop the DVD though. Can we expect to see the album with the release of the DVD?

C: Well the DVD has got its own soundtrack. Got a song from Agalah the Don Bishop. I got Little Brother, Hell Rell, Jaka, Yukmouth, Keak da Sneak, Tragedy, Styles P. It’s going be a hell of a soundtrack.

JR: Yea you all over the country with that.

C: Yea exactly.

JR: Yea I remember you released the trailer to your DVD “Who Am I” with the limited edition package of The Realness and The True Meaning. It seems like this project is a lot deeper than most DVD’s that MC’s are putting out nowadays, so can you go into more detail about what type of footage you'll have and who will be featured on this documentary?

C: As far as featured I think the person that’s featured the most besides me is one of my cousins. Like what this DVD is, it’s like who am I. Like everybody has a particular opinion about a person. Like you could take the most villainous people in history and you might find somebody that really loves them. Like there is somebody who really loves Hitler and there’s somebody that really loves Bin Laden. So it’s like who am I? Like am I a rapper, am I a street person, am I a bad guy, am I a good guy. So what we did was we chronicled me from 2001 to 2005. Like followed my independent career etc etc and during that time we interviewed people that had been in touch with me during different stages of my life. It’s like you follow me around from 2001 until 2005 and then you getting peoples perceptions or perspectives of me. Like you’ll have Marley Marl on there and he’ll tell you his thoughts. You got Tragedy, Nature, GodFather Three from Infamous Mobb, Screwball, ACD, so that’s all from Queensbridge. Then you’ve got other people like Jay Love, people that know me from Brooklyn, and people that knew me from the city. Then you’ve got personal shit. Like you’ve got me chillin at home, I’m at my baby shower, you got show footage, studio footage. But you see other sides of me too. It’s not just a DVD where I’m trying to promote how tough I am or how bad I am. It’s a DVD that’ll show like, as much street cred as I have (which I do have), that’s not what defines me. I do things for the community too. Like you’ll see me in the hospital with paralyzed people because you know 85% of adults between the ages 18 to 45 who are black and paralyzed, is from the result of gun shots. So I went there to pay my respects and to spend time with the brothers who are in the wheelchairs. And you see that on there. And the dope thing about it is like they know me by name, but it's not like saying Cormega like they just met me. They’re saying Cormega like they’re familiar with me as a person. That goes to show that’s not my first time at that hospital, you know what I’m saying. Even got a guy in a wheelchair rapping on my DVD. He wanted to rap so I let him rap and it’s on there.

JR: Damn so this is a full blown DVD documentary.

C: Yea 3 hours and 50 minutes, it’s a documentary for real. This isn’t a street DVD where I’m running around smoking weed with guns acting tough and it goes off in an hour. It's 3 hours. And there are also videos. Like I shot high quality videos from The Realness and The True Meaning. People always wondered why I did that because I spent a lot of money doing it, but now it pays off because those videos that were shot are on the DVD. So that’s a good look. In stores November 20th.

JR: You also got another project on your hands. Legal Hustle Got Beats. What gave you the idea to make an album that is all instrumentals?

C: Because there are so many people that just want beats. So many people that just want something that they can rap to. And there is so many people that just contacted me via the net asking me to put out a beat tape. Or yo can you send me the beat to that song you did? A lot of people in the industry feel like Mega got one of the best ears for picking beats, which I think is an ultimate compliment because I never looked at it as that. So I said you know what I’m going to make a beat tape. It’s not just about Cormega anymore. I’ve got a company and one of my obligations is putting out products. The type of products that people like me want. And I was like I wouldn’t mind hearing dope beats to give me something to write to. So that’s just something I wanted to do for the real hip hop heads.

JR: So this is you marketing other producers?

C: Exactly, like on the Got Beats I got Premier, Alchemist, E Mill, Moonshine, guy name Kid, C-Mill. We got new guys and we got people that’s hot right now. Just a whole bunch of beats.

JR: Could you give us who you believe to be the top 3 producers in the game?

C: To me. Um. My top producers. Well out the gate is Havoc. Havoc and Bucwild are two people that are the most under rated producers. Like when you think about it these guys have given you classics during every generation. Like everybody always thinks about Primo and Dr Dre, like they’re automatic, but Havoc gave you classics since Infamous. Like Jadakiss’s biggest record was Why. Havoc did that. You know. Havoc did Shook Ones. Like he did the best anthem from Queensbridge. So it’s like his sound is just so crazy. I be in the studio with Havoc. His beats that he throws away be better than producers beats put it like that. I don’t dig in the garbage, but I would dig in Havoc’s garbage any day. Ya know what I’m saying? So I would say Havoc, Buckwild, and um… man I don’t know who the third one is. There is the guy name Nottz. Then you got Primo and all the other people. So my favorite 3 right now is Havoc, Nottz, and I don’t even know. Maybe E-Millz. The guy E Millz is stepping his game up.

JR: Can we expect to see all these producers on the new album?

C: Everybody I named is on the new album. I just got to get a beat from Havoc, but I’m pretty sure I could get that. I’m almost positive I could get that. I just got to go back to the studio. I was with him last week.

JR: Do you feel beats are becoming more important than lyrics these days?

C: I think the hook is more important than anything nowadays. I mean not even just the beat. Because if you listen to some songs the beats be terrible. Or the beats be sounding so spacey. Beats be sounding so weird nowadays I be wondering if I’m getting old. Am I getting too old for this shit? Is rap passing me by? Or is this shit just really that wack? So sometimes I be asking the young guys “yo what’s up with this song?” and they be saying it's wack too. A lot of these young guys is saying this shit is garbage and we just fuck with it because that’s what the girls want to listen to. Since the girls fuckin with it we just fuckin with it. Or you hear it so much that you just start fucking with it. But I think it’s the hooks nowadays that catch everybody’s attention. Because you can’t even remember the beat a lot of the time, but you can remember the words. Like she aint got no money in the bank eh eh eh (sings it like Swizz). You know what I’m saying? So it’s like the game is crazy. Lyricists right now is like a rare bread. Being a lyricist is hard right now. Like I know I’m a lyricist, but lyricists don’t get any recognition right now. That’s one of the fates of being a lyricist.

JR: True True. Aight well I been meaning to ask you this question. Tony Montana that’s got to be like top 5 greatest hip hop tracks in my eyes. The lyrics is flawless, and the beat is crazy. So what was your inspiration for that track along with Ghost?

C: I mean it’s a funny story with that song because originally that wasn’t even the beat from the original song and that wasn’t even my original verse. What happened was Ghostface did the track. The beat was kind of weird, so it took me a while to get used to, but it was a dope beat nevertheless. But Ghostface demolished that shit. I had Ghostface's verse for like over month before I even recorded to it. So I felt like if you try to outshine someone on a song you had for over a month, that’s like cheating in a way. That’s like being able to watch a boxer and you watch him spar and you see his weaknesses and everything. Then you box him and they don’t get to see anything. So what I did on that song was I tried to rap like Kool G Rap and Kane on the record. Like Ghostface's energy was more Kool G rap. So I tried to be laid back on it with a dope verse. And I changed the beat where my verse could fit Ghostface’s. Where my voice could be smooth and his could still dominate the track, but I catered to the new beat. But overall Ghostface killed that shit.

JR: Was that beat a sample or it was something that ya'll put together from scratch?

C: Na that beat was made by somebody. Some new guys made that beat and they was in the studio and I just gave them a chance. I was like aight let me hear what you got and they made that beat and I played it for Kay Slay and he lost his mind. He was like “yo that is the beat right there.” So I guess they can thank Kay Slay for that. I mean that song is incredible. The funny thing about me is when I do songs with people I don’t know what it is, but they be trying to go crazy. I be bringing the best out of mothafuckers or something.

JR: Definitely. Yeah another thing I got to ask you is you’ve had the chance to work with a lot of artists throughout your career, but the one that really stands out to me was your collaboration with Tres Corna.

C: Oh wow Tres Corna.

JR: Yea I do my research dog. Not many MC’s work together with foreign artists, so how did that connection come about?

C: I mean I think they had respect for me. They knew one of my peoples from the streets that happens to be a Latin guy. But he’s a real known guy in the streets, so I always uh...that was like a challenge for me, but it’s something that I wanted to do because at the same time I have a lot of Latino people in my family too. I never really talked about it that I got Latin people in my family biologically, but I do. I just wanted to do that song just to be different. Like one thing about me is I don’t want to be that one dimensional rapper. Like at the end of the day, you listen to my features I always try to do something different. Like certain rappers be talking shoot em up bang bang. But it’s like I’ll do a song with Mobb Deep. And Mobb Deep is like grimy, but I’ll do a song, like Pick your Poison. Like I’ll do something with Mobb Deep and I’ll try to go lyrical on it as opposed to try to shoot em up bang bang. And then I’ll do a song on the Hi-Tek album and I’ll talk about a girl. All I Need is You. And then I’ll do a song with Tres Corna and I’ll rap bilingual. Like I try to do different shit as an artist. So I could be well rounded.

JR: Are there any artists you’re interested in working with that you haven’t got the chance to do a song with?

C: Scarface, Lauryn Hill, the Clipse (I like the Clipse a lot), Beanie Siegel. My top five people I want to work with, who I have never worked with is Scarface, Slick Rick, the Clipse, Beanie Sigel, and Lauryn Hill.

JR: What other music besides rap do you enjoy to listen to because I know a lot of great lyricists get their inspiration from music outside of rap.

C: Uh I mean basically it depends what the song is. Like recently Robin Thicke had a song out that was kind of sick. I don’t know the name of it, but it was dope. I liked his shit. Like Gwen Stefani and No Doubt. Um Marvin Gaye is my shit. I love Marvin Gaye. I love Jackson 5. I love Donnie Hathaway, Bob Marley, Sam Cooke, um Sister Nancy, you know stuff like that. But Jackson 5 and Marvin Gaye is real serious.

JR: Do you have any other projects coming out through Legal Hustle?

C: Yea got some secret shit going on right now. But um Havoc blew it up the other day. I mean it’ll be some shit. You going to see a lot of Cuban people. Got some QueensBridge type shit that we’re trying to do. So we doing that. Got the Cormega solo album coming after the “Who Am I.” Going to have Legal Hustle Vol 2. and then we going to have more instrumental albums coming every year. And I got a lot of DVD’s. I got a lot of visual entertainment coming.

JR: Are these DVDs going to be more documentary style or are you going to get into acting?

C: I’m trying to do a movie right now. We actually got a script that we supposed to shoot around November. I’m just debating of whether or not I want to still be in it. Like if I’m busy I’m going to get somebody else to play the role I was going to play because I don’t want to hold up the production. But we are supposed to start a movie around November, December. But I’m going to do movies and I’m doing a lot of documentaries. A lot of interesting documentaries under Legal Hustle.

JR: I thought it was interesting that with your career you made the decision to start your own independent label. Do you have any advice for other people interested in starting up their own label?

C: It’s not easy. My advice is if you're going to go independent just be aware that you're not going to have some of the things that other artists have. Like you might not have a video. You might not be a household name. You might not have some of the things that other artists are blessed with, so you got to be comfortable in your own skin. You know what I’m saying. You have to be able to work...if you look at my DVD it takes you through years. There’s going to be times you look at my face and be like damn Mega look mad skinny. Like I’m a slim motherfucker and I was losing weight because I was dehydrated. Like I used to try to be like Dame Dash. Like how he just grind and say that he just takes power naps. There was a time I would be outside all night. I might be in the studio and I don’t get no sleep. Then I get up early in the morning jump in the car and drive to another state. And I let's just say I’m in Virginia and I’m hungry because it’s breakfast time. I might say you know what I’m not going to eat until we get to North Carolina. Like that’s not good. You’re supposed to eat. So there are things you got to do. When you’re independent it’s going to be all work. There’s no play. It’s not a game. It’s not for posers. If you going to go independent you got to stick to your vision, get you a good lawyer, get your marketing plan straight and just grind. At the end of the day you’ll be alright.

JR: In this day and age what would you suggest for a young artist? Go independent or get signed to a major label?

C: It depends man because if you not good with business-. If you one of those people that don’t even deserve to be an artist you just lucked up and got into the game. Those are the type of people that need to be on a major label. So they can just cater to you and you can get your one shot of fame and go on with your life. But if you want to be an artist and you're worried about who benefits the most from your career then you should be an independent artist. At the end of the day you’re only getting 40 cents of a record. These records sell wholesale for 10 dollars. You do the math. You see what I’m saying. If you go independent and selling decent numbers, but not great numbers you’ll make just as much as a gold artist.

JR: I know a lot of people have been asking you about your relationship with Nas, but I was actually interested in your relationship with Nature.

C: Me and Nature is cool man. Nature was at one of my shows in December. Me and Nature is cool man...me and Nature have been cool for years literally. Like I just called Nature out of the blue and we kicked it. That shit with me and Nature is so old you know we cool. I ain’t got no beef with nobody in QueensBridge. There is no beef with QueensBridge rappers. I ain’t got no beef with no rappers. There might be a rapper who don’t like me here and there, but I don’t got no beef with anybody. All of my differences have been settled. So anybody else that has got business with me it’s just something extra and it’s probably somebody who isn’t worth being mentioned.

JR: Do you think we would ever see another Firm album?

C: I would seriously doubt it because look at The Firm. Like you got Foxy Brown, she wants to go to jail. I mean you never know. My whole concern is would people care? Is there going to be a Firm album when people really care? You know what I’m saying not when we all 53 years old trying to be the Temptations. You know what I’m saying. The longer you stay away from people and the longer you don’t do something people don’t give a fuck. I really don’t care about that shit anymore. I really don’t care because I wasn’t even on the Firm album, so I really don’t care.

JR: Word. I think it’s important to ask you seeing as you're one of the most respected rappers in the game: Do you think Hip Hop is turning in a positive direction?

C: Umm…Hip-Hop or Rap?

JR: Both.

C: I think hip hop is showing a lot of signs of life and you see the thing that’s fucked up is that the powers that be have turned what was once real, into bullshit. Before it was based on how dope your album was. We didn’t care what you sold your first week. We didn’t care about that shit, we just cared about if your album was dope. I don’t remember how much Slick Rick sold when he made Hey Young World. I don’t remember how much Rakim sold, I don’t remember how much Kool G Rap sold. When Illmatic came out nobody cared how much it sold. Like when a album is dope it’s dope. But now it’s like people are changing the shit into a fashion show. It’s like aight how much did it sell this week. So now it’s like the real underground hip hop acts that are out there have been selling more to people. Like Common Sense was recently number one. Talib Kweli was recently number two. Like when Nas album came out he did better than people thought he was going to do. Prodigy did an independent album and he put out 33,000 copies the first week. That’s incredible. Like if you don’t understand the business than maybe you won’t know, but those numbers are very good numbers. So it’s showing that- notice those projects were known as good projects-so it you put out good material people are going to buy it. So that’s the positive direction for real hip hop. Know what I’m saying?

JR: Yea. So you’re not really agreeing with Nas when he’s trying to say hip hop is dead?

C: I can’t really speak for what Nas said because I don’t know what he means. I thought I knew what he meant but I don’t know. You’d have to listen to his interview with Funk Master Flex to understand where I’m coming from. Because in his interview with Funk Master Flex he said something totally different from his interview on MTV. So you would have to really look at those interviews to really understand where I’m coming from before I could really speak on it. So I don’t know what he meant when he said hip hop is dead. I don’t know if he did it for shock value. But I don’t think hip hop could ever die.

JR: Yea I do know what you’re saying. You're cool with Ron Artest, right?

C: Of course he’s on my DVD.

JR: Do you feel as if the media is portraying a fair image of him?

C: The things people fail to realize about Ron Artest is- I mean you got to be able to realize people go through certain moments in their life. Like straight up and down. What people need to understand is you can’t judge somebody until you know the whole picture. Like if he’s always been a troubled child or a troubled young adult then you could place that judgment. But like the things he does in the NBA. Like the basketball shit when they was fighting and shit. Like you have to be a straight square- like America has this perfect person conception. Like you have to be a perfect person. Like if somebody does something to you you're supposed to not do anything, you just supposed to go to the police. Certain things happen and any man is going to act instinctively. For instance if somebody throws a soda on me I think I might have reacted the same way. I think Michael Jordan may have reacted the same way as Ron Artest. People fail to realize Ron Artest is also the same guy who has been doing tournaments for the kids. He just came back from Africa. Was in Kenya with the poor kids. He does a lot of good shit. Another good thing that they fail to mention is Ron Artest failed to have any arrest record coming into the NBA. He wasn’t selling drugs, he wasn’t in QueensBridge shooting people. He wasn’t in QueensBridge doing bad things. He wasn’t a problem in school, he wasn’t disrespectful in the community. He wasn’t disrespectful to his parents. He’s a good kid, who happened to make it into a world of sports entertainment where everything you do is under the microscope. So I don’t think he’s getting treated fairly. I think he’s just somebody going through a stage in his life. When he matures it will be better for everybody. But I think Ron is a cool kid.

JR: Looking back on your career do you have any regrets?

C: Ehhh… let me think about this. The only regret I ever have is that I signed to Def Jam when I signed there. But everything happens for a reason, so when I signed I was proud, that was one of the proudest moments of my life, but something I regret. But without that I wouldn’t be able to be independent.