Cold 187um sits down with Soren Baker in an episode of Unique Access to discuss his newly released The Black Godfather project.
The double album comes two years after the Above The Law member’s last project, The Big Hit. Throughout the sit down, Big Hutch explains how the double album originally started off as a film idea, but changed after the story for the film was created.
Cold 187um labels himself as The Black Godfather multiple times throughout the interview and considers himself a legend and pioneer in the Hip Hop community.
“I always wanted to make records, even Above The Law records, that were us, that people could relate to, and at the same time, people could engage with it,” Cold 187um states as describing his writing process. “When I make a record, it could be new sounding, throwback sounding, or whatever box people want to put me in, but it’s always going to be from my perspective.”
Cold 187um hosts a Ruthless Records reunion of sorts with The D.O.C. and Ice Cube on the song “Legacy.” The West Coast legend tips his hat to previous Ruthless releases in the track as a way to pay homage to the early years. Hutch explains the happiness he went through finally being able to record a song with Cube after all these years.
Hutch also discusses the single “Hustle Hard” featuring Too $hort and E-40, a very hard track as described by Cold 187um.
Big Hutch hops back in the time machine to reference the classic Above The Law single “Black Superman” on his new song “Black Superwoman” featuring female Hip Hop veteran YoYo.
“As the Black Superman… I wanted to do a record that kind of says like, ‘Okay, I’m looking for that type of woman that mirrors me,” Hutch says. The Pomona, California rapper-producer enlists YoYo to fulfill the feature because he believes “she is a very powerful sister,” in addition to respecting her talent.
Hutch goes on to explain that he will never make a “Black Superman 2” without the late KMG or his Above The Law brothers due to the respect he has for them.
Baker mentions the sound bites that Above The Law’s Uncle Sam’s Curse albums uses from the movie Against The Wall. Cold 187um uses similar tactics on The Black Godfather while using narrations from Slink Johnson, who is also featured on Unique Access Ent.’s The Grey Area. Slink listened to The Black Godfather and rambled off “a bunch of dope shit,” according 187um, which he ultimately decided to include on the album.
Cornelius Blackwell, the Black Godfather in Cold 187um’s forthcoming movie, is a young gangster dude who does not knock people. Instead, he looks out for them. Cold 187um believes that Slink Johnson brought that to the table for Cornelius, much as Hutch is trying to throughout the album.
Towards the end of the interview, Hutch speaks on his new song“The Masterpiece,” which describes how he looks at life. “I’m no expert, “ he says. “I only know what I see, but the picture that I’m going to paint is going to be so brilliant because it’s from my perspective as an artist.”
Hutch believes he had to build people up for this record and could not give it to the listeners full-blown. Hutch and longtime collaborator LayLaw planned out the landscape of the album together.
The Black Godfather album is available now.