Kalasol.com exclusive interview with IQ of Nu Dynasty (IQ & EYE_C_US)...Be on the look out for the hot single "The Panther" from Nu Dynasty Feat Sunni Ali,Zakaat & Kalasol. Also upcoming the full length self titled debut album from Nu Dynasty

(kalasol.com staff writer 2008)

New Dynasty was......is....and shall be!. Nu Dynasty was the past is the present and the new destiny of lyrical content and raw beats (aka slaaaap!!!) Nu Dynasty is as rough & rugged as an ghetto in America yet uplifting as any motivational sermon from Rev. Wright on Sundays. Nu Dynasty is IQ & EYE-C-US.
 
The Nu Dynasty is a style beyond compare . IQ lends the verbal weapons with songs like "The City of Macks" basically a "That's Oakland" part 2 that goes more into depth about the town legacy. This song alone will have you rydin down E14th with Pretty Toney as your passenger. Wait!!! don't think that it stops ...EYE-C-US blends her "soft spoken" spoken words to balance out the Dynasty's style, her 16 bars on "The Panther" are classic. 

With "The Panther" making the spotlight section of the Almost Famous soundtrack Nu dynasty was pushed into repping the bay on a national scale. While making preperations for "The Panther" video shoot we had time to speak with 1/2 of the DYNASTY .....IQ. Not only is he a true veteran of the game but he speaks like a hip hop historian the bay areas answer to KRS-1. Matter of fact after sittin’ down with IQ I believe in Rap again. He is definitely on point. Rap has become so commercialized that everything sounds the same. Yes, you do have catchy beats that make you wanna get up and shake a tail feather & turf dance,  but where is the music from back in the day. Even now if you heard  that orginal hip hop music it would make you stop doin’ what you are doin’ to recite the lyrics!  to listen, to feel ...to learn. 

Look out for IQ of Nu Dynasty. This man is definitely on a mission to change the industry. Just remember that you got word of IQ first from Kalasol.com & “The (Real Money) Organization”. This dynamic artist will not disappoint.

(kalasol.com)
 How long have u been doing music?

I’ve been around rap since about 1985 around the time that Too Short dropped his first album. That’s when I started to take it a little serious. Yeah, about that time Too Short dropped and then there was this other dude named (Fred Benz) who I heard droppin’ who got me interested. I met T La Rock (of Def Jam/Rick Rubin) at Mojo Skating Rink in San Leandro and he heard my voice and told him me that I needed to start writing immediately. He thought I was from the East Coast because of my voice. But I was born and raised in Oakland. I started writing in 1987 because everybody kept telling me that I had “it”.

Matter of fact, during this time, while he was in CYA…someone thought that he had already dropped an album since he name is similar to Rakim (Rasheed).

 What artist influences you?

Artist that have a real message like Common Sense influence me. I like a message in the music that I hear. All that watered-down commercial rap doesn’t cut it with me. I need real messages.

 How will your songs impact the industry/game?

It will wake our youth up.

 Tell me about your childhood?

I had a typical life in Oakland…it was intense. I came from a broken home. I didn’t have a father in the house so I was inquisitive about manhood. So naturally I went out looking for a father-figure in my potnas. I got caught up and made some wrong decisions. I spent time in CYA and Quentin but that’s behind me now. I always had something inside of me that made me know I needed to make a transition to something positive.

 Describe your new album…songs…style, etc.

My father had been asking me to write a book about the panther school that I attended when I was a child. But due to unfortunate situations, I never sat down with my father to write. My father passed away before we could collaborate on the project but since I had given my word that I would write about the school I took the words for the book and turned them into lyrics for songs for the album. The album is not about trying to bring big afros or black leather back, it’s about how great/strong the city of Oakland was at one time. It’s about showing the youth that we come from a strong heritage. The album has a political edge but is not preachy.

 Any political views?

I don’t support Barak just because he’s black. I want someone that is for the people and it doesn’t matter if it’s a man, woman, white or black. I want someone that is going to make a positive change for the country and the community in which I live I in.

 How long have you been working with Kalasol?

A brother by the name of Moses took me to his studio on 79th & Rusdale called “The Basement Records” and that’s when I met Kalasol around that time. We collaborated on a song together in 1993 called "Pound". I heard some good things about Kalasol and was excited to work with him.

 Who do you think you sound similar too that is already in the industry?

My style definitely is similar to no ones. I have my own unique style.

 Who would you like to work with/do a song with?

I would like to work with Black Thought from the Roots, Common Sense, Talib Kweli and Moss Def. These artists have a strong message and that’s what I look for in music.

 What would you like your fans to know about you?

There is a lot of history involved with what I’m doing. Not only that, but there is a sincerity about what I’m doing. The art of rap has been lost. If you are going to rap say something that is going to wake the next person up.

I’ve been around long enough to see a lot happen in this rap game. Everybody out there in the limelight is not necessarily the best.

Yuk Mouth was brought to me in ‘69 Vil and I took him to Royal Park to show him flows, but unfortunately I was incarcerated by the time Yuk dropped “5 On It” so I didn’t have a lot of involvement in the project.

Kimi Fresh took me to meet with Dean Hodges who was working with Too Short and Teddy Bohanan (The Dangerous Crew).

So I have been around this thing for awhile and haven’t necessarily gotten hooked up that has been promised to me.

But today is my time and I’ve been putting out songs around the Masjid (Mosque) and I’m ready to make this happen for me and other artist who have that gift.

Original rappers that come from Oakland are bein’ suppressed by rappers who are not from Oakland like  ________ …I feel that rap game is a monopoly. I want Oakland rappers’ talent to be revealed so that they can get some of the recognition that is deserved.

 Final Thoughts

Nu Dynasty is looking for raw talent from individuals who have skills. IQ wants to help cultivate their skills and is comfortable working behind the scene to shape artist and mold them into what Oakland and the world needs hit us up at alkitab1@aol.com....also check out our myspace.