Next to Arctic crab fishing, Hip-Hop is probably the most difficult industry to stay afloat in. All the cutthroat competition, government pressure, fickle consumers, corporate greed and street-level violence make it easy for successful rappers to easily drop into obscurity. Not many artists are able to last longer than a decade, but bay-area lyricism magnate Del tha Funkee Homosapien has managed to stay in the game for 16 years now, a feat that has seen him outlast numerous pop fads from grunge to grime and everything in between. I hooked up with him prior to his show at Richards on Richards and we spent an hour chatting it up and smoking Beedis in his hotel room.

- Douglas Haddow with photos by Jordan Todd

When I was in my first year at University, I listened to Deltron 3030 every single day. It was my favorite album along with Kid A.

I remember some albums that were like that for me.

Which ones?

“Ultramagnetic” for me was critical. Also ‘Beatdown’ and ‘funk ya head u’p. I played them tracks so much. Also “Four Horesemen”…just them songs 1 2 1 2 and um….. What’s the other one? [ Del sings " 1 2 1 2, 1 2 1 2.."] and “see that man on the street, he’s at the corner”. I must have played them two songs over and over again ‘til the tape popped!

At this point Del takes out a Beedi and smokes it out the window, we talk about different variations of the Beedi blunt and after finishing the smoke Del begins to fiddle with his laptop.

So, are you using a Mac or PC nowadays?

Both. My PC is what I work on mostly, but I don’t use it when I’m online. I use my Mac for the Internet.

I heard that you had your Lacie Porsche hard drive break down. What happened?

Yeah, I lost all my shit. Luckily, all my songs and shit were on another separate HD.

You should be sure to back up all your files on a CD or DVD…I should too…. I’m just too lazy.

I am too, but when you have a fuckin’ crisis like I had, and you have all your files backed up, - you will be glad as fuck you did, you feel me? Everybody is lazy about it, but you need to back your shit up!

For music, what’s your favorite program to use?

Mmm, Ableton live is my most fave program, I’ve been using it for years. It’s (DAW) that means digital audio workstation - so you can do everything with it man…it’s dope. It’s real easy to use, unlike some of the other programs where you gotta be a fuckin’ rocket scientist to us them. Know what I’m sayin?

Do you use Photoshop at all?

I want to…because I’m a visual artist first and foremost. My father is an abstract artist as well, he does collage type stuff and used to have shows and shit back in the early 80’s, and he also did the cover for 11th hour.

So what’s a typical day in your life like?

I wake up, fuck with my computer, and make music, know what I’m sayin? I might go out and fuck around a bit, I might write lyrics for a bit, then check the Hip-Hop message boards, do some technical shit on my computer and listen to some music.

I read that one of your favorite books is about music theory.

Yeah, it’s called “Lies My Music Teacher Told Me”. It’s all about how music actually works, which is basically relationships between different sounds. So you know, I learned what I needed to learn and I didn’t bother with classes, you know what I mean.

So are you feeling Vancouver?

Feels cool…I mean, I don’t get to travel around, or look around or nothing really. I mostly go straight to the hotel, rest maybe, get on the Internet, do whatever I gotta do. Then maybe make some music and get ready for the show. Once the show is over, come back, go to sleep, same thing the next day.

What are your impressions of the city?

People are cool out here. It’s a bitch getting thru customs though. They always fuckin’ with u, it’s ridiculous you know? But other than that, once you get here, it’s cool. People here are cool, I’ve even thought of moving out here a few times. It’s real cool, real chill out here, that’s the impression I get.

How’s Chinatown in Oakland?

It’s cool. It’s Chinatown, you know, same thing as any Chinatown I guess. I don’t really get down like that, I try to stay at home, work on music at home…try to stay off the streets as much as possible at this point. I have already done did that, So I’m like, I’m tired of that, a lot of my partners still be out on the street, might be grindin’ or whatever, and I cant really be caught up in that. It’s easy to get into, hard to get out of you know, I just try to leave that alone as much as possible.

Very true, very true.

I still got partners that be out on the street, do whatever, you know what I’m sayin’, I ain’t going to cut them off or nothing, but I just try to separate myself from that as much as possible.

Is there any new music you’re feeling right now? Anything you are really digging?

Peedi Crack from Rockafella, Beeanie Siegel and A-plus has got a new album out too.

Do you have a new Deltron album in the works?

Yeah, it might be a while before its finished though. I need to be in a certain mind state to work, it takes a little bit of research or whatever.

It’s pretty heavy shit right? I remember when the last Deltron album came out. It was 2000, just before 9/11.

Oh really? I didn’t even recognize that…

To me, Deltron represents dystopia - it’s like the worst possible future. What about utopia? How would music be used in a utopia?

There’s no such thing, so I can’t even imagine it. That’s like trying to imagine perfection, and as soon as you reach perfection, it’s not perfect any more because you already are thinking about how it could be more perfect. It’s like you will never reach it, there’s no such thing.

Ok, how would music be used in a dystopia then?

What’s that?

Like if Deltron 3030 became reality, which maybe it already has, what would it be like?

What did you say? “Dystopia?”

Yeah, dystopia, its the opposite of utopia.

That’s a good word. Okay, I don’t even see how art or music could exist in a utopia, but in a dystopia. it would probably be fully functional.

Since Deltron 3030 came out, what do you think about the state of things? How have they changed? In your opinion have things gotten worse or become better?

Basically, everything is fucked up. Motherfuckers are just taking everything too far with technology and shit. It’s starting to over power everything. Think of like ‘Madmax’ or like, you know, ‘Fist of the North Star’, it’s like that, that’s the type of world I’m trying to depict. Eventually people will be forced to survive with just basics. Like, all you got is a can of beans to eat and some other crew down the street will whoop your ass for that can of beans. There will be no government or anything – the government will be street gangs and shit. Whoever’s the toughest and the roughest will be running shit. So you know, just how people survive on basics is going to change. Some people will become greedy and try to punk everybody and take their shit, while others try to work it through other means. Some people will cower, some people are going to be like naw, fuck this shit, you ain’t taking my can of beans…you feel me?

So is Deltron featured in event 2? Is it the same character?

Um, naw it’s a different character.

How are they different?

It’s just a different character. I tried to just take it to another place, you know, so its not really even Deltron, it’s just this kid he’s chillin, you know, trying to make it in this world he’s plopped into. I’m trying to make it more of an extension of how my life really is and try to put it in the future. I am going to try to make it more basic so that the average person can understand it, cuz you know, a lot of my partners in the hood and shit, there like “Man we love you Del…man you are tight and all that. But Deltron? Couldn’t feel it man. I ain’t gonna lie to you man. Love you man…but Deltron, it was over my head man.” So, I didn’t want to make the new album over people’s heads. But at the same time, I wanted it to be entertaining, still wanted to have the futuristic vibe, just wanted to make it more accessible all around. So you know, its not finished, only did like two songs so far.

What are your biggest influences for Deltron? Be it a movie, book, or comic book.

Like I said, for this one it’s ‘North Star’, anything futuristic, Robotech, 1984, my life in general, as well as ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’.

So do you think the new Deltron will be easier for people on the street to relate to than the last one?

Maybe. I’m definitely making it to where, if you want to get into it, you can. It ain’t gonna be no big deal. So if they want to they can, and if they don’t, then you know, that’s their preference. But for anybody else who’s willing to listen a little bit, I don’t want to make it too hard of a listen…which might sound like “why is he trying to change for the public or whatever” it’s not really like that though. I feel like music shouldn’t be like a textbook, you feel me? It’s music, I feel like it should be kind of engaging, attractive in a way. But people are fickle though, you know, so you never know what’s gonna pop off. One moment they want this, and then the next moment it’s too much, or the next moment it’s not enough.

Is there any Gorillaz stuff in the works at all?

Honestly, when I did Gorillaz, that was more of a chance thing than anything. So, as far as I’m concerned no, but if they approach me, I’m with it. I don’t know if they’re going to approach me or not though, because they didn’t approach me with the first one. That was just totally chance, the song that I did, Dan already had it done, he just didn’t like the rapper on it. He then told the Gorillaz, he knew that I could come up with the shit in like a few minutes so he was like “Del, come on man, you know you could write this in like 30mins” So I was like fuck it, why not? Little did I know it was gonna blow up like that. Nobody knew it was going to blow up like that. The Internet just blew it up.

Did you ever meet Damon Albarn? He seems like quite the character.

I talked to him on the phone, but never met him. I never met any of the dudes. I just did the song, that was it. You know, get my publishing off of it. That’s how I have been eating for the last few years.

So did you write it in a plot type of scheme?

Me and the director of the11th hour video dvd, Grant James, just sat down one night for like 3 hours on aim and just pretty much wrote it out, saved the conversation, and that was it. That was the framework, along with what Dan and koala wanted too. I just gave them free reign. Whatever they came up with, if it didn’t go too far outside of what I was thinking of, I said ok yeah that’s cool, add that too. So it worked out good man. Musically it’s different from what you probably think of as a Hip-Hop record. It sounds more like a soundtrack, or musical, than anything else…really dramatic.

The opening track of Deltron 3030 is like that. Its very theatric, very sweeping, and the way you come in with your verse, it’s all very cinematic.

Yeah. That’s a good example, that’s how the whole album is this time, pretty much.

You guys could get into some crazy performances with that. You could have a really sick live show!

We did that, and now lately I’ve been trying to get my lyrics a lot more basic and a lot more to the point, and this is why: I forgot that I would have to perform a lot of these motherfuckers. We did a Deltron tour, and I broke down, because I couldn’t remember none of the lyrics. We went out right after I finished recording the album, we were out on the fuckin’ road. We had a live band and everything, and I basically freestyled the show, every single night, the WHOLE show, because I didn’t have a chance to learn the lyrics. And it’s pretty much impossible to learn the lyrics, cuz it was too much. So at this point, I’m like man, more basic, to the point, it’s easier for me to comprehend, and easier for the listener to comprehend. So I’m trying to do that without sacrificing the content. I’m trying to keep the content dope, but the lyrics, more to the point. I feel like there’s so many rappers that done did the hocus-pocus, you know, parabolic mirror, whatever. You feel me, it’s like there’s so much of that done that I feel like the only way to go, is back to basics.

Just condensed and high impact?

Yeah, you know, like, to the point. “What are you trying to say?” That’s what I would think to myself, “What are you trying to say?” Or are you trying to hide behind big-ass words or whatever? I don’t feel like I do that, but I feel like people are asking that question. Like “If you so damn smart how come you cant say it in a way that I can understand it?” like all that college and you still can’t talk to me in a way where I can understand what the fuck you are saying. You feel me?