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Tracey Lee - About The Business
Interview By: Kevin L. Clark
 It is popular to say that “hip-hop is dead” right now. But at one time, it was alive and well. Tracey Lee, at the time, was leading the way with his breakout hit 'The Theme' (It’s Party Time). It’s subsequent remix featuring the Flip Mode Dungeon Dragon – Busta Rhymes turned the spotlight on the Philadelphian MC’s album.
That album – 'Many Facez' (Uptown/Universal) – was a great album. One of my personal favorites, as well. With a guest appearance from the late, great, Notorious B.I.G. – the debut album was critically slept-on with the talking heads not sure of the MC’s motives.
Tray Lee seemed to fade from the spotlight and into the annals of one-hit wonder-dom. Not too long ago, 'NobodySmiling.com' did an interview with 'DJ Furious Styles and during the interview he mentioned that Tracey Lee was his entertainment lawyer.
 Now armed with a degree in Law from Southern University, Tracey Lee hopes to open the eyes and ears of the hip-hop community with his jewels of wisdom, hard earned in the music industry. He also sits down with NobodySmiling.com> to talk about the experience of working with the "Black Frank White" and how he hopes that his next album will cater to those who aren’t being thought about by BET and MTV.
NobodySmiling: I don’t know if too many people were familiar with your first single, but how did "The Theme" (It’s Party Time) come about?
Tracey Lee: It was basically a collaborative effort Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. He had an idea. He wanted to flip the old School House Rock 'Nouns' joint. It used to come on during the School House Rock television program. The late 70’s, early 80’s show was were the melody came from. I remembered that joint and there was also 'Pieces of a Groove' and 'Buffalo Girl' that were also sampled. He put it together and it came out raw. At the time, the owner of the label – ByStorm – was Mark Pitts. He had a good repoiré with Busta Rhymes and I was always a fan of his work. So when he mentioned that he wanted Bus on the remix record, I was on it. It just clicked from the gate.
NobodySmiling: The album, 'Many Facez', was a concept album with you being multiple characters interwoven in a story. But one of the most memorable tracks was the joint 'Keep Your Hands High' with the late, Notorious B.I.G. Did you guys work on the track together in the studio?
Tracey Lee: That was definitely one of my favorite joints. Not because it was hot, but because B.I.G. taught me more about the business during that session than I had learned on my own. At that particular time, I was just learning about things in the music industry. We sat there for about a good six, seven hours, until the record was done. Well, I should say until I finish writing my part and finishing the song. B.I.G. never wrote anything down. He wrote them in his head. I never saw a pen and a pad. He confused me at the time. May God rest his soul; what that did was it forced me to step my game up. It was a situation where I had to come at least equivalent to him. To, at least where the streets would at least say that B.I.G. came with it, but that guy Tracey Lee held his own.
NobodySmiling: To me, personally, that album was raw from beginning to the end – but some felt that you were all over the place lyrically. Songs like 'Repent' and 'Give It Up Baby' make a critic think that you’re trying to demonstrate depth, but not showcasing "who" Tracey Lee is. So, at that time, who was Tracey Lee? How have you changed since then?
Tracey Lee: That’s the thing. It all came from people not knowing who I was. That was one of the rarest times where you had an artist that came out of nowhere. I wasn’t on a whole lot of mixtapes, I wasn’t featured on anyone’s record, and I wasn’t coming out of anybody’s crew. It was a good and a bad thing. The good was that it got me the exposure. I was on the grind for a year. But the bad was that from a national standpoint, no one knew who I was. I killed on the college circuits. For example, at my school, Howard University, I always did damage there. It hurt me in a sense because the label didn’t have a chance to set up the album how it should have been marketed. I didn’t know anything until after the thought, after I had learned the business considerably. On the album, I’m not schizophrenic… those are my moods. Those were the “characters” on the album. Those are my moods. All of those people’s are Tracey Lee. There are just times when I want to do things that are different. I didn’t want anyone to put me in a box. That is what happens, people want to gift-wrap you into this certain MC, this certain type of individual. People go through different perspectives on the constant, but with me, I am all of them.
NobodySmiling: You continued onward with your education and are now an entertainment attorney for DJ Furious Styles. You even appear on his new mixtape. What have you learned about the business that you wish that you knew when you first got started?
Tracey Lee: I learned that you really got to be about your business. You can’t, like, go into this game – even with a solid team and think that they got all the answers and all you got to do is go on stage and perform. There is a thing called checks and balances. You, as an artist, need to know everything about everyone else’s job. Every dollar that you make you have to break people off for them doing their job. That’s the reason why I went to law school. I switched managers a couple of times, just from a business standpoint and the contract that I signed. Granted, as a new artist it’s about the give and take thing. There are things that you don’t want to do, but you have to just to get into the door. But there are some things that you can avoid. If you know what the lingo is – you’ll be able to make an adjustment. There was a time when I felt pressure to get on and get out there, but that makes you susceptible to just signing any contract. I don’t blame anybody, but I do think that if I knew more about my business then I wouldn’t have to change lawyers and managers so many different times. So, that was probably the most valuable lesson that I learned in this business. That came from trial and error, and not receiving the proper financial earnings.
NobodySmiling: On the mixtape, you drop those jewels to up-and-comers in the game to help them bypass the snakes and rats that flood the industry. With that said – why the hiatus since the first album?
Tracey Lee: Basically, I’ve been learning about the business. I went to law school. I just graduated from Southern University Law School in 2006. The game has changed so much due to technology. There is a consolidation factor with all of these record labels. Now, there are about three major labels. But at the time I was out, there was at least seven. The standpoint that I look at now is that hip-hop has grown-up. Your fans are older now. The majors want to put it out as if it is still a young man’s game. Red Alert turned 50 years old not to long ago. There is a different way to market and promote the music. They’re not trying to promote to us, the older cats. Even the game is older, the listener is wiser, and more knowledgeable about the music. I just want to sit back and analyze the game to have a good base, a good foundation to know how I want to handle my own business. With the law degree, I’ll be able to properly get into any situation and know what’s going on. I am using this degree to help others know the business.
NobodySmiling: You were signed to Uptown/Universal – did industry rule #4080 lead to you no longer being in the rap game?
Tracey Lee: I am not even going to say that the record industry is shady like that anymore. The key-word in this hip-hop field is business. People are interested in their best interests. You have to, as an artist, conduct business in your best interests. The labels have the upper hand, but if you want to get into this business you have to know that it is such. You have to be educated as much as possible when stepping into this game.
NobodySmiling: The landscape of hip-hop has changed drastically since 1997. What do you think are the pros and cons of these changes?
Tracey Lee: Naturally, it’s unfortunate that since hip-hop is a business, the art and business involved doesn’t mix. You have deadlines, fiscal years, profit shares and margins. Everything is on a quarterly basis. But with art, you don’t put a time limit on it. Art is something that you work on and it’s done when it is. Business and art definitely do not mix. But since hip-hop is this billion dollar industry, it stifles the creativity. Everybody looks and sounds the same, using the same slang. That is the part that hurts most. Back in the day, the business wasn’t as lucrative at the time. So, the creativity allowed a lot more flexibility and the records sounded better. You had a choice on which type of cat you wanted to listen to. From LL to EPMD, you had all their records because each brought a different style. You don’t have your cross marketing situations, anymore. Run-DMC had to make a song called, “My Adidas” to get some promotion. Now, you have Ford, GM, Coca-Cola and the rest. They’ll come in and promote the artist themselves. That is what is hurting hip-hop. I love us making money and being in power due to the entrepreneurial spirit, but I feel that it is keeping the music stagnant.
NobodySmiling: I still play a few cuts off of your album to this day and it’s been almost ten years since the album dropped. I can’t say that for most rappers, even today. When you first started recording the album, what were your expectations going in?
Tracey Lee: Of course, you want to go platinum. Or at least go gold and get that plaque. But to be honest, I wanted to be respected as an ill emcee. I wanted people to respect me and say that he comes with it. I wanted to get people over the hump in their lives. Just so long as people in the streets, the 9-to-5’ers, the people with the crazy status and stature, it would be relate to them. Once that happens, I believe the platinum status comes into play because you’re touching people. I wanted to be the best. My target audiences now are cats like me. I feel like the labels aren’t marketing to us anymore, scratch that – they’ve never marketed to us before. I want to reach the age groups, 25-40 and up. Give them the music that they want to hear on a constant basis. Whoever does that first will win. Just from the natural standpoint, kids follow what the grown-ups do. Now, there is a serious gap. The older cats seem bitter now, and don’t want to communicate with the younger cats. The younger cats are trying to find their own way in this shit. I’m just trying to bridge the gap. Making solid music for the older generation, then the younger cats will listen and say that he’s not sounding like so-and-so. He’s not following the Southern movement, but he’s still speaking some lingo that I know. They’re all going to want to educate themselves about it. It just makes sense to cater to the cats that are older.
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