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Chocolate Thai - Riding High
Interview By: Melanie J Cornish
 Women in Hip-Hop are a rarity today. Behind the scenes women are in prominent positions right across the ‘industry’ board, but when it comes to the music they work so hard to represent, we have only a handful of females with the ability to reach the masses and that is a damn shame.
New York raised Chocolate Thai, who appeared as the only female on the TV show Interscope presents: The Next Episode brought together Bad Boys Babs Bunny and Flipmode’s first lady, Rah Digga on a mixtape which has been primarily promoted and available only on the internet. Still riding high off her project with MC Lyte The Real McCoy, making money was not Thai’s objective. 'The Price Just Went Up' project was to ensure that the fan base the gals accumulated worldwide had the chance to get the mixtape as quickly as one would on 125th street in Harlem and what better base to do that than the [W]orld [W]ide [W]eb.
 Read what Thai has to say about New York Hip-Hop, what she has to say about New York fans and just what the future holds for one of the Undergrounds leading ladies. Make sure to check back later in the week as nobodysmiling.com goes in depth with Thai’s inspiration MC Lyte in an all exclusive interview.
Nobodysmiling.com : You are promoting your mixtape 'The Price Just Went up', how did you and Rah Digga link and when did Babs Bunny get involved in the project?
Chocolate Thai : The concept came from when me and MC Lyte did 'The Real McCoy' Project, after we were done with it and happy with it, she actually came to me about doing a female project, an EP. I was like it should be more than an EP if we could get all the chicks together. You know a few people had come to me about putting out a project like that, all different females.
I wanted to go after the chicks that I knew had a buzz and who I respected lyrically and Babs to me right now, not that I watch TV, but when she was on 'Making the Band' I was watching and rooting for her the whole time. Rah is a legend to me, up under MC Lyte and I just thought it was a smart way to go after 'The Real McCoy'.
I met Rah on the TV show I did, 'The Next Episode'. We actually rocked together at the show but it was edited out and we didn’t really keep in contact since then; but we had mutual people that we knew in common, so I reached out to her first. She was excited about it and ready to go. I really wanted Heather Hunter to host it but she didn’t have time to do it and I wasn’t actually going to have another host, I was just going to let MC Lyte do the intro and the outro.
When I linked up with Babs, it was a wrap, it was over. We were talking everyday, she wanted to be involved but the mixtape was about 70% done when she came onboard and she definitely has music up there, you know she wasn’t just hosting it. She is 100% behind the project so it was actually easy getting everyone on the project. We are all real positive and inspired to do something like this. I don’t think there has ever been anything done like this before.
Nobodysmiling.com : There have been talks of other female projects being done, but they just never came to fruition.
Chocolate Thai : There may have been but I have never heard of them. I know of chicks trying to get together to do something, but not like Babs from Bad Boy and then Rah from Flipmode and me as the wild card. I just hope that people do know of this project and so far the response has been really crazy.
Nobodysmiling.com : Female to female, we have talked about this before, the females are so underrepresented.
Chocolate Thai : Well I think that all of us agree that all the females behind the scenes would probably support projects like this if they were made available to them. As a female I don’t listen to mixtapes to be honest with you; but this mixtape, even if I wasn’t on it I would really like the music. To hear all three females go back to back; a lot of people say that females sound alike and try to put us in boxes, but when you listen to this, all three of us sound very different and we are bringing something different to the table. That was my main goal to show the unity and bring the diversity of three different MCs to the table.
Nobodysmiling.com : How long did it take to get the project together?
Chocolate Thai : Really it could have been out and done faster, but because like I said, I don’t listen to mixtapes, but some of the pitfalls you have in mixtapes I was trying to avoid in putting this project together. I mean this is my second project out after The Real McCoy.
Nobodysmiling.com : But you approach a mixtape like an album anyway after hearing your first project; you know you put time and effort into them.
Chocolate Thai : Yeah that was really what I was trying to do. I was trying to set the platform for us to do an album. With the different situations that we are all in, I am not sure how realistic it is, but I just know that was my goal. The next step would be an album in stores that people can pick up all over the world, with headlining females. I did take my time though in putting it out. But I am 100% happy with this project.
Nobodysmiling.com : One thing that stands out is that you are putting this mixtape out on a website for free download. What encouraged that move? Unsigned artists are normally doing the mixtapes to make a bit of money.
Chocolate Thai : To be honest, 'The Real McCoy' project has done well for me. I move it everywhere and I try to think outside the box somewhat and the real big picture for me as far as this project is people all over the world can get the project, with no red tape to go through or anything like that. So with the free download, somebody in Switzerland is getting the mixtape at the same time as someone in Brooklyn. Rally for me it was bigger than the money, and there are people who think it is crazy that we are not doing this for the money, you know even just five dollars. But it’s a bigger picture as I want everyone to have this project.
Nobodysmiling.com : You have a huge fan base overseas though don’t you?
Chocolate Thai : That was my reason for putting the project together in the first place, me and MC Lyte had talked and I had really been pushing 'The Real McCoy', a lot of people wanted to see us perform overseas after hearing the music and one of the problems I had when it came to them ordering overseas was it isn’t easy for them; you know the long wait period to get the CD, the shipping costs. 'The Real McCoy' did well but I would have liked it to have done better over there. But the people talk to me and tell me what they were encountering when it came to ordering the project, so this is like a gift to them.
Nobodysmiling.com : Are you planning to go out on the road?
Chocolate Thai : Right now I am talking to promoters all over and the response and the feed back has been good. Rah and I were really focusing on stuff overseas, but we have had a great response over here too, you know people asking when we going to be showing up at their schools etc. I am working on trying to get to some colleges right now and I am talking to a bunch of people, but we are definitely taking the show on the road. You may see me and Babs, you may see me and Rah, you may see all three together but we are defiantly looking to perform joints from the mixtape all over. We are looking at October, November and December to go hard body.
Nobodysmiling.com : I saw you perform one night here in NYC and you were a little upset at the crowd that night. You made it very clear that there are serious differences to performing in New York than overseas.
Chocolate Thai : I am really emotional, I really love Hip-Hop and it really disgusts me the movement of Hip-Hop in New York right now. I am from New York so for me to say that it kind of breaks my heart. I just feel they don’t appreciate the music here anymore. Rappers are like cabs and producers are like buses and they are all over the place. I think it is just watered down here, people don’t spit hard, labels don’t get behind their artists and I don’t know if the mixtape circuit has hurt it as like you said, people put out mixtapes and want to sell it.
I am angry at the artists and I am angry at the fans. In Europe, you are performing shows and people are plugged into the artist, and the people who are successful over there is because the fans love the person. It is equal to the music. Where as over here, I am not sure if they love the artist or the music. You know they listen to the radio and hear one good song, whereas in Europe when you get off the stage they immediately want to have the music. They really show love to the artists. The show you are talking about, I thought was a great show, but I am looking at Styles P rocking and the fans only get excited about the songs that they hear that come on the radio. This is Styles P who was spitting before Biggie and after Biggie and I was excited to see him rocking live and I just feel that the love has gone from New York right now. It is heart breaking.
Nobodysmiling.com : As a female is it harder?
Chocolate Thai : To me, either way, I think that people pay attention as I do feel that I get more support than a guy would and that isn’t just in New York. Even if they do love you, I don’t think they know how to show it anymore and I think that New York is too cool for itself right now and it is so cool it’s frozen. Everyone wants to be icy now; we are frozen in time. People need to adapt and warm up. It’s like if you pay money to go to a show, you should want to be like having the best experience of your life.
Nobodysmiling.com : Is there anything in the works in regards to deals when it comes to you? I mean you have your single dropping, 'Tip the Bar'.
Chocolate Thai : Yeah man I am really excited about that. It has been crazy working on this project, the mixtape and then with the single dropping too. My next move right now is getting behind the single, I am putting it out with West End Records, and they have been in love with the song since 'The Real McCoy' project. Hopefully it will be spinning here in all the clubs in New York and we are going to see what happens from there. I am a free agent right now, putting out my own single and I am real happy with that. I am not really in a rush to do anything as far labels are concerned. In my eyes, an artist is someone who does music, performs their music, the people want to see them and that is where I am right now. 'The Real McCoy' has done for me and I don’t see a reason to get into a situation that I am not 100% behind. I have to love everything I do and if I play for a team I really have to love that team.
Nobodysmiling.com : Would you be happy to stay on the indie grind?
Chocolate Thai : I was looking at some numbers this week and they showed that everything I am doing, I am doing the right way, even if it is the harder route. I just put up a couple of tracks this weekend on my myspace page to see what the feedback was like and with no radio play and no video, those people who come to my page to hear my music will be the ones who buy my music when it is in the stores. They aren’t going anywhere. I am confident that when there is a good situation it will pop off really well, but it has to be a situation where I can rock in Europe and maintain both fan bases as they are important to me.
I have to be with a team that is on the same page that I am on. I think outside the box and the game right now, the sales are down and people are following the same thing that isn’t working; so it has to be someone who is thinking outside the box in the same way. So until that situation comes I am going to keep on doing these projects myself. I have a couple of ideas and working with people who are trying to get something in the stores. I am working with Southpole and I might be doing their promo CD. So I definitely am going to have a straight up Chocolate Thai project, MC Lyte will be involved in my project, maybe Rah Digga will be involved in my project. I want to be in a situation where I have some control, I don’t mind giving up some control but I don’t want that to affect my fan base.
Nobodysmiling.com : There isn’t much love shown in Hip-Hop amongst the females. How important is it for you as an artist and as a female to build up these relationships?
Chocolate Thai : Hate if you hate. That negativity only goes so far. I am confident in myself so I am able to humble around someone like MC Lyte, there is something wrong with me if I am not. Working with Rah Digga on this project definitely humbled me in a major way as I respect these people; so for me it is just paying proper respects. I like to deal with other bosses as I am a boss, I like being around smart people who I can grow from and I have been lucky to have legends around me. Like with 'Tip the Bar', I can ask Jazzy Joyce her opinion, Ralph McDaniels checks up on me. The people who have maintained staying power in the business are the people I like to affiliate myself with and be around and I am also going to say MC Lyte’s name wherever I go as without her there would be no me.
Nobodysmiling.com : You do most of your promotion yourself and you are self managed, what has helped you reach the people like you have?
Chocolate Thai : Well I was going to call my first album 'Myspace', but I am sure someone will take that title now I have said that. Myspace is like my Hot 97. I don’t know much about the PC, but I keep my page fresh and I do go through my own messages. That’s why when someone in Paris is having problems getting music, you know through CD Baby, the people can let me know that and I can trouble shoot the problems right away. That is priceless to me. I put up a song, I know how many people are playing it, who is feeling it and technology is bananas for showing data like that. I will ride with myspace.com as long as it is up. There is no reason for me to put up a website when there is myspace. There are a bunch of major players who could hit me on the two way and me them but we would much rather talk through myspace. People are addicted to it and I am one of those people. You know I listen to the radio and people are shouting out their myspace page. It’s like a popularity contest in high school (laughing.) It is the best press in the world.
To download the mixtape go to www.myspace.com/chocolatethainy
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