4. Raekwon – “Keep It Politics” (prod by DJ Babu) | Closed Sessions Vol. 2 | 2011
Working with the Chef… A dream come true. This was another one of those sessions in which our efforts were validated. Unlike some of the emerging artists we were working with at the time, Raekwon was not a product of the internet blogosphere, and didn’t have to really take part in all this new shit – especially one that involved rapping at Beauty Bar and recording an original song for a small fraction of what he would normally be paid to do those two things. I mean, to have a rapper of his status even at Beauty Bar for $5 was unheard of. The best part of this was just spending time with him, and realizing that he really wanted to do it in large part because he loves Hip Hop and recognized that same love in us. There’s a part in the documentary of him talking to me in the car about all that. While it’s like 20 seconds of the documentary, we talked about hip hop non-stop for his whole trip. We debated top emcees of all-time, favorite songs, albums, pretty much just nerded out with Raekwon for two days. I’ll never forget it. And the cherry on top was getting him on a record with DJ Babu.