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Camp Lo - A Piece of The Action
Interview By: Bill 'Low-Key' Heinzelman
 Camp Lo was ahead of their time. In 1997, the duo of Suede and Cheeba dazzled Hip Hop heads with their remarkable flows and creative wordplay on their debut album 'Uptown Saturday Night'. With their hit single "Luchini" and standout production from Ski - of Reasonable Doubt fame - the album quickly became a cult classic and to this day, is hailed by many as one of the most slept on LP's in Hip Hop history. However, as is the case in the Hip Hop game, Camp Lo fell victim to the infamous industry rule number 4080 shortly after. With Arista buying out Profile Records, Suede and Cheeba sat in limbo for over two years. Eventually, they were able to shake off the chains and released their long awaited follow up album 'Let's Do It Again'in 2002. Unfortunately, the album failed to rekindle the essence of 'Uptown Saturday Night' and was hit with mixed reviews. Now back on their feet once again, Camp Lo is looking to make up for 'Let's Do It Again' with their upcoming mixtape 'Fort Apache' (Editors note: the album has been indefinitely delayed due to to unknown reasons) and their third LP 'A Piece Of The Action'. NobodySmiling tracked down the hard to find duo for an interview to let you know that Camp Lo is back and better than ever.
NobodySmiling.com : The both of you grew up in the Bronx, so what was that experience like for you?
 Suede : It was awesome man! That is where I discovered everything about myself. I discovered music, dance and graffiti. Everything was here - all of those art forms and they were just in the beginning too. So it was a very very wonderful experience growing up in the Bronx. It gave me my blueprint for what was going to happen in my life later on.
Cheeba : I don't know, it feels like a living room or something, very comfortable. It was a little bit wild, but it was comfortable, regardless. That was back in the days when pop lockin' was on the come up - that is what I remember. We were just chillin' and all that.
NobodySmiling.com : What is your first memory of Hip Hop?
Suede : When my mother let my brother throw his birthday party in the crib. That was my first time being around the older crowd and seeing the whop and all the kids coming together to jam. It was a real fly thing. Of course, at the end of the night the party got shot up in my house, but there is still a whole lot of classic memories about that party.
Cheeba : I remember going to school and seeing cats beat boxing and battling in front of the school.
NobodySmiling.com : What was the one album you always listened to growing up?
Suede : I know the first album I ever purchased was Pete Rock & CL Smooth's The Mecca And The Soul Brother. That was pretty much the first album I was really in love with.
Cheeba : 'The Great Adventures of Slick Rick' and the Jungle Brothers first album.
NobodySmiling.com : How did you guys hook up to form Camp Lo?
Suede : I was pretty much a solo artist at first and I was working with Ski on my project. So Cheeba used to pretty much critique my stuff. He was like a mentor around that time and would help me find myself as an artist. Eventually, it got to a point where I didn't want to do it anymore, but we made such an awesome team that I had to pull him in and we started Camp Lo. This was never really his dream, this was my dream that he pretty much helped me live out. He was going to do something else in life and I'm glad he chose to partner up with me along this journey. I wouldn't want it to be anybody else.
Cheeba : Well, I used to lend Suede records all the time and he was rhyming by himself. And one day he was like, "You rhyme fam?" And I was like, 'Na, I don't rhyme but I'll try.' Then one thing lead to another and we ended up getting with Ski and did a couple songs. Then we left, came back and did a couple more. He ended up digging them and that was pretty much it.
NobodySmiling.com : How did you originally know Ski?
Suede : I knew Ski for a very very long time. I was introduced to Ski through a mutual friend, who is also an emcee. I was living in Virginia at the time, because there was a point when I moved to VA. But my brother called me one day and was like, "Have you ever seen this group called Original Flavor?" So I finally saw the video and he was like, "Yeah, they live across the street from me." So even though I was living in Virginia at the time, I would come up to the Bronx for the summers. And when I came up, they introduced me to him and that was pretty much it.
NobodySmiling.com : What did you think when he blew up on Jay's Reasonable Doubt? Were you cool with him during that time?
Suede : Yeah, we were working on 'Uptown Saturday Night' around that time. We used to literally record in the same crib. Me and Cheeba used to sit on the corner waiting for Jay to finish up his demo, and then we would go next. It was that tight knit at that time. And they wanted "Luchini" so bad. There was beats that Ski gave Jay that we wanted so bad, because we were both recording albums at that time. But that was a real good time, because music was dope then.
 NobodySmiling.com : What do you remember about recording 'Uptown Saturday Night'?
Suede : The time was so fly back then! Hip Hop was just Hip Hop and there was that love. You could do what you wanted to do and you could be who you wanted to be. The album was received so well. There was so much new and creative music from artists all out at that same time. It was awesome! That was when a DJ would play your record just because he loved it. It was a real real dope time.
Cheeba : When we were recording that album - no matter what problems were going on at that time - that album brought a good feel to me and Suede. It wasn't a good time when we were working on that album. Everything wasn't Hollywood, but the stuff we were coming up with was Hollywood. It kept our heads up and once the fans heard it, it was lovely because they saw the entire vision. They saw and understood the whole 70's theme, and let us run with it how we wanted to do.
NobodySmiling.com : What was going on at that time?
Cheeba : It was crazy at that time, at least for me. At that time, I got kicked out my crib by my aunt. I was chillin' in an abandon apartment and all that. I was taking vitamin C to make sure I didn't catch a cold, with an alarm clock in my pocket. Crazy - there wasn't no smiling faces at that point.
NobodySmiling.com : I remember reading that in the booklet for 'Uptown Saturday Night' - you said thanks to your aunt for kicking you out.
Cheeba : Yeah, I thanked everybody who made times hard for me, because that is probably what I needed.
NobodySmiling.com : For a lot of Hip Hop heads, 'Uptown Saturday Night' is a classic, and one of the most slept on albums in Hip Hop history. Do you feel that way?
Suede : I don't feel it was slept on, even though Profile could have taken it to another level. But I think they were trying to capitalize on the fact that it was getting so much love, and that is when they chose to sell the label. Camp Lo came out and created that jolt for them. We kind of brought them back to life. And they wanted to sell the company right after that. So I think if they had never decided to do that and continued to push the album, it could have done a lot more. But for how it was received and the classic value that everybody puts on it, the album holds a real close spot in our hearts. And we are ever so grateful for people to recognize that.
Cheeba : I definitely feel that it’s a classic because when we go around and perform, cats would go crazy. They all know the words and everything. But when we first came through, that style really wasn't what was going on, so they really didn't know how to give it a grade. But later that year, I think cats started hearing it differently and then it was received better. Because I feel that album was hot, especially compared to what was going on at the time. The album didn't have a timeline because we really weren't trying to match up with nobody at that time.
NobodySmiling.com : Do you think you guys were ahead of your time?
Suede : We hear that a lot. We hear that if we did what we did then now, it would be crazy. But I don't know, I think things happen when they are supposed to happen. So I think we were right on time. And even if we were before our time, that just gives us more leverage. But if they consider that before our time, then its always going to be like that. Because we are always going to come from a place that's all our own. We are always going to make music like that. So yeah, its cool, I'm with being before our time - we can never get old like that.
Cheeba : Sometimes I feel like that we were ahead of our time and then we have to tone it down. There is some stuff that cats will probably never get to hear because we throw it in the trash because we think the public isn't ready for it. But its straight Hip Hop. But it’s the fact that they might think we are from Mars if they hear it.
NobodySmiling.com : The thing that made people fall in love with guys is your unique wordplay, flow, and delivery. Do you think all of those were a little too advanced and complex for the average listener?
Suede : I think about that to this day. Then, like I said, there was a time when you could be who you wanted to be. Not saying that you still can't do that, because you can never loose yourself, but nowadays I'm a little more conscious about the wordplay. More or less, we used to speak in our own language. Now, we may have toned that down more to appeal more to a younger or less advanced listener. So we have taken the initiative to tone that down a little, but we will never loose the element of us and we will always have that slang.
Cheeba : I kind of feel like that. But at that time, I didn't feel it was complex and advance. I felt that the wordplay was dope and we had our own slang. Like "mellow burst" - some people may not know what that means. But it could be a burst of energy or whatever. But to us, a mellow burst was something slick and fly at the same time. Cats wasn't understanding it, but I thought it was creative at the time. Plus, that is how we talk regardless. So I didn't think it was going to be received as too complex for cats because that is how me and the cat I run with talk. They understand everything we are saying and my moms does too. If she could catch it, anybody can.
NobodySmiling.com : What complaints did you have of Profile promoting the album?
Cheeba : The only thing I was thinking about bruh, is that cats really didn't know the release date. They changed the release date a few times, but everything else I was cool with. I was cool with the "Luchini" video and I was cool with the video for "Coolie High," even though I wasn't crazy about the song because it got watered down beat wise. And past that, I thought that "Spanish Harlem" was hotter than "Black Nostalack." So I wanted that to be the next single, but there was politics poppin' off on that song at that time. But other than that, I wasn't mad at what they did. They let us do us, as far as art and music was concerned. They weren't trying to change us and they let us do our thing. Plus, they exposed us to the world.
Suede : We did have some complaints at the time. Because we would go into some cities and they would tell us, "We can't find the record." We were hearing that a lot, so we were definitely concerned. But looking back at it, out of all the labels we were ever on, they were definitely the best. They held us up real high and were a priority to them. That was like home and everybody up there was real supportive. But like I said, I think they had their mark of what they were going to do and then they uses that as bait to sell the label. And that's what they did, because we have a lot of offers from Def Jam, Columbia and a lot of others who were trying to buy Camp Lo. It was even up eight hundred thousand and a million dollars at the table at one point. But Profile was like, "Na, if you wanna buy Lo, you have to buy the entire label." And eventually the label was sold for 11 million. But they treated us really well up there and they were dope.
 NobodySmiling.com : After 'Uptown Saturday Night', you had that five year period until you dropped 'Let's Do It Again'. What happened in that period?
Cheeba : Oh man, we got caught up in the Arista deal. They bought us off Profile and it took forever for them cats to finish the paper work. So it took two years to finish the paper work. Then when we get on, they are like, "You guys do what you do." But what we do doesn't match what Arista does. They want commercial joints. And they may look at "Luchini" as commercial, but for us that wasn't a commercial song. That's just what we do. So they were like, "Hit us with this, hit us with that." Then they started putting singers on songs with us and tried to switch our whole style up. So all of that wasn't working and eventually we asked to leave. So we put out a little buzzing single - "Trouble Man" - which just let cats know we were coming with something. So that took a year and then we started traveling overseas. Finally, we did the 'Let's Do It Again' album. But that album wasn't supposed to be the album to end all albums. We weren't making it like that. We just wanted to show cats we could switch up the sound from the 70's to a whole different sound. Because at anytime, we can make 10 different songs. Everything has their own sound, just like this new mixtape Fort Apache, which his straight 80's with a slash of the 70's Hollywood. That mixtape is going to give you a taste of what the next album is going to be. But all that time we were basically caught up in some paperwork and bullshit.
Suede : Yeah, that is what caused the set back - that fucking transaction and transformation from Profile to Arista. That took two years out of our career. Everything was going perfect, but then again, everything happens like its supposed to, so I don't have any regrets or bitterness. I know that there is a place for us with our music and people love what we do. We know once we get our situation straight and get everything on that proper platform, it will be ok.
NobodySmiling.com : Were you happy on how 'Let's Do It Again' came out?
Suede : I was happy with the project, the music and the effort we put into it, but I wasn't happy on how it was handled. I think a lot more could have came out of that, because personally, I am a fan of that album. But the hands the album was in, they didn't know what to do with it at the time. It was one of those situations.
Cheeba : I mean, it could have came out a little better. Because I had to find out, and DJ's had told me after the fact, "We want to hear the essence of y'all cats. We want to hear you with the style that you guys came with from the jump." Me, I just thought they wanted to hear cats rhyme with different flows. I look at Camp Lo as rhyming with experimental flows all the time. But for other cats, they want to hear us rhyming with those same flows over the beats they know us to rock over. At that point, I didn't know that. I heard Common say something like that recently - "I didn't know that they wanted the straight Hip Hop how they want it." But the fans who know us, they want the straight Hip Hop. No commercial bullshit, just that straight knock, and that is what we have to continue to hit them with.
NobodySmiling.com : I was going to ask you about that, because I know some fans were disappointed with the production on the album.
Cheeba : Right - and cats have flew that to me. Honestly, I didn't think the production was bad, until I played it for somebody else. Because usually, we don’t play no music for nobody until we are done with the whole project. That's what we did and when I finally played it for cats, they were hyped to hear it was a new sound. Like, "Word, I didn't even know you made music that sounds like this." And then other cats were like, "I wanna hear more pretty sounding music, bruh." So I'm caught in between, because I'm like, 'I thought it was aight. I thought we did a good job.' That was until other cats started flying it to us. But there are others who like that album a lot and some that didn't.
Suede : Well, everybody is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that. I take criticism well, because that is the only way you grow and get better. But our formula for creating music is we create everything right there on the spot. We will all get together at stay 2:00 in the afternoon and we'll create the beat, create the choruses and verses, and do everything right there. That is the beauty of how we work. But when we were recording 'Let's Do It Again', in our mind frame, we were sticking to our original blueprint of 'Uptown Saturday Night'. But I did read different reviews and heard different comments here and there. How did you feel about it though?
NobodySmiling.com : Honestly, I liked about half of it, but I wasn't feeling some of the beats. I'm not one of those fans who expects you to recreate 'Uptown Saturday Night', but I wasn't feeling a lot of the synthesizer beats. I just felt it didn't have the essence of the original.
Suede : I feel you on that 110 percent. I respect you for that and I need that. But this new joint right here is definitely going to be Hip Hop, body rock, 'Uptown Saturday Night', but revolutionized because as human beings we are going to grow, evolve and change with time. So even though we are always going to stick to what people know and love us for, we still grow as people and artists. So there is always going to be that little twist. But for the most part, the core of it is always going to be what people know and love us for.
NobodySmiling.com : Tell us about your new deal with Halftooth Records?
Cheeba : This Halftooth joint, it’s a mixtape before the album. The album is called 'A Piece Of The Action', and this is called 'Fort Apache'. I don't know if you've see the movie or not, but it all went down in the Bronx. And Fort Apache, The Bronx, was a police station. It was a movies in the 80's. And since we are coming with an 80's theme, we named it Fort Apache. So Halftooth, them cats seem like they know what they are doing as far as getting us towards the people who wanna hear that different type of music. Suede met them dudes, we introduced them to the cats we are running with, and that was that.
NobodySmiling.com : What types of songs, issues and concepts can fans expect to hear on this mixtape?
Suede : The mixtape is an 80's theme. Within it, we are going to take you in and out of the 80's, while hitting you with traditional Lo shit. Its going to be a nice combination of that.
Cheeba : We got a joint where Suede is going to a party in the 80's, which is a big stick up time, if you know anything about the 80's - especially in the BX. So he is going to a party and I am a stick up kid going down to the same party. Anyway, he is telling his part about what he has on, like the Gazzels and rope chain, and I don’t have none of that, but I want it. And there is another joint where we are in the park and you hear the echoes on the reverb and all of that - so it sounds like we are in the park performing. It’s a two emcees/DJ type of joint. Then we have some joints that sound like it may be in the 70's, but its mostly 80's joints. We actually took four off, because we don't want to play around and we'll put four more on we like more.
NobodySmiling.com : And production wise, you guys got Ski again, correct?
Cheeba : Yeah, he's back in. We back to creating the beats like……oh yeah, this is what it was! That's the difference with Let's Do It Again!" Because on the last album, there were a lot of beats that we didn't sit down and make from scratch. It was a lot of beats that were already pre-made. So this new mixtape is from scratch again. We are sitting down and creating. That might be the difference and that just came to me right now. I ain't even think about it like that.
NobodySmiling.com : I'm a big fan of Oddisee because I feel he has that Pete Rock vibe. So how was it working with him and getting his beats?
Suede : Oddisee got some hot shit and I've been listening to his stuff for a hot second. The thing about it is, me and Cheeba haven't gotten a chance to sit and listen to him together. I'm a fan of his work, but you know how it goes when you are in a partnership. Everything has to be decided on together. So that's the next step - we have to get in the same room. And I would love to work with him like that, because I love to work with producers in the room so they can give their input, because its their vision as well.
NobodySmiling.com : Any last words?
Cheeba : We just want the fans to hear this mixtape and see how they feel about it. We want to make sure their ears is listening to something they never heard before - that is how we like to do it. We want to hit them with something that isn't matching what's on the radio or what any other artist is doing. Being that we are coming with an 80's type of feel, we want cats to take it for what it is. Don't take it for, "Well, I wanna hear this and that." All of that is coming next - as far as A Piece Of The Action. This mixtape is straight Hip Hop with a twist.
Suede : Thank you for the love and support.
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