David Banner |
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Fri. July 25.2003 10:40 AM EDT |
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David Banner: Mississippi BurningHot MC stumps for the Dirty South, trying to show a "triller" picture of the region's culture. He talks about his rap skills, his raspy voice, and the beauties of hanging out in low-down clubs. by C. Bottomley |
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David Banner (Publicity) |
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We all think we know the Dirty South from music videos. You cruise in slow-motion towards the local barbecue joint in your Caddy, occasionally pausing to let the rims spin. You flash your bling bling at the strip clubs, where the local talent
David Banner’s South is slightly different. Where his contemporaries moved to Atlanta to strike it rich, he has stayed in his hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, studying the legacy of his land. Lucrative cotton crops once made the state an economic powerhouse. These days it’s the poorest in the country. Plantations have been replaced by casinos. The civil rights struggle has left memories of burned churches and slain activists. It’s all part of the gruff MC’s impressive disc, Mississippi: The Album. For Banner, it starts with being “trill” – a mixture of “true” and “real.” So the first single, “Like a Pimp,” stays grimy, like his corner of the world. Banner also acknowledges the Delta, where blues men like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters made their mark. He drops his rhymes in a growling delivery over acoustic guitars and horn sections, getting political on “Bush,” showing local pride on “Mississippi,” and summing up his dilemma on “Cadillac on 22’s” – “I know I'm here for a mission but it's so hard to get 'em wit 22 rims wheels glistening.” Banner spoke to VH1 from Jackson, where he was walking the ‘hoods, scouting locations for the video to represent “Cadillac on ‘22’s.” DJs might be more inclined to spin the thunderous “Like a Pimp” than an acoustic number with a mournful gospel chorus, but on the streets of Mississippi’s capital, Banner was feeling the love. In-between greeting friends and fans, he talked comic books and the Harriet Tubman connection. VH1: Why David Banner and not Bruce Banner? David Banner: It sounded better. David Banner came from The Incredible Hulk TV show. I read the comic books, but the things that take Spider-Man and Batman to the next level happen outside of the comic book. The TV show is what took the comic book to the masses. VH1: What was your favorite comic book? DB: Spider-Man was always my favorite, by far. But he would never take care of any of the problems. He would just take the villains to jail and they would always come back. If you know they’re going to come back and hurt someone, why didn’t you finish the problem? I liked Wolverine a lot, too. I always like the super heroes who were withdrawn, similar to myself. VH1: So you identify with David Banner? DB: I didn’t even think about it until I [spent] a semester away from getting my Masters Degree. I was homeless and traveling from city to city, similar to him. People didn’t know this vagabond on the street was probably the top gamma ray scientist in the United States. I didn’t take the name David Banner, though. It was given to me because of my temper. I’m the nicest guy that you’ll ever meet until I’m pushed. Then when it’s on, it’s really on. There ain’t no coming back. VH1: How did you first encounter hip-hop? DB: My uncle was a DJ from the North. He came down and brought a whole bunch of records like Mantronix and Stetsasonic. That was my first introduction to it, before it got mainstream. VH1: Have you always had such a raspy voice or did you have to punish it a lot to get that way? DB: I’ve always had that type of voice. I’ve always had a commanding personality. My father is a retired chief of the fire department. I’ve always had good male role models. That’s one of the things that’s made my personality the way that it is. I’ve had examples in my life of what a man is supposed to be like. VH1: A lot of the attention is being drawn by thoughtful tracks like “Cadillac on 22’s,” but your first big hit is “Like a Pimp,” a more club-oriented tune. Does it misrepresent you as a rapper? DB: No! That’s all a part of it. It’s still all me. I’m not perfect by any means of the word – and never will be probably. I’m going to always start off my records real street, real grind, because you got to come big. I look at myself as being a male Harriet Tubman, because she got out and made stuff happen. VH1: What’s your favorite place to hang when you’re in Jackson? DB: I like hole-in-the-wall clubs where other people are scared to go to. I find more peace there. I’m there to chill, listen to some music, grab me a drink, and kick it. But at the same time, I’m in the middle of the community. I’m not running away. My theory has always been, if somebody wants you, they gonna get you. They have shot a president before, so I know they can get my black ass. VH1: Keeps your ear to the ground, too. DB: I’m listening to the things they’re saying in the club. There’s a song on my record called “Bring It On.” This dude started saying, “Bring it on! Bring it on!” I thought, if everyone is singing it right now in the club, I won’t have any problems when I put it on the record. So I went straight home and transferred that to a record. [The club] is like my classroom, my rest place, everything all in one. VH1: You frequently use the word “trill.” Explain to those of us above the Mason-Dixon line what it means. DB: I hate the word “real,” because what’s bad is what’s real. In my community, people is hurting. That is what’s real. I don’t want to keep it real. The only thing you have to do to make something “real” is go and do it. If someone says, “Aw man, I’m a killer,” he might be the biggest nerd in the whole wide world. All he’s got to do is go pick up a gun and pull the trigger. Now what’s real is that he’s a killer. That might not be the true nature of his spirit, but he done made it real. So the word “trill” is a combination of the words “true” and “real.” What’s true is the combination of all your actions in life, not just one action. VH1: The album makes it real obvious it’s not just about beats. It’s about skills, too. DB: I’m trying to make music. I’m trying to make rap more complex because if we don’t make it an art, anybody could do it and if anybody can do it, then it’s no longer an art form. That’s what makes it a fad, when anybody can go, “ABC, this, that, this…” and make a hit record. I want people to come back ten years from now and pick up Mississippi: The Album the same way we can pick up Marvin Gaye. I want to make records good enough to be sampled later on. I want to make it hard on these rappers these days. VH1: How do you turn the heat up? DB: I sign 700 to 1,400 autographs a day. I show up for my shows on time. Nobody wants to go on stage after me, so that’s going to make everybody show up for their shows on time. That’s going to put pressure on these rappers. Back in the day when you had Doug E. Fresh, Run-D.M.C. and NWA, their shows were phenomenal. How can you come on after Run-D.M.C.? When NWA or Ice T stepped off stage it was over. That’s how I want it to be. When David Banner comes off stage, we all got to get out. VH1: Has the Civil War ended in Mississippi yet? DB: It hasn’t. Look at music. The majority of music buyers are in the South and Mid-West and the West Coast. Who controls it? New York. The way we view music comes from that small place. That’s why I call my album Mississippi. That’s why I got “Mississippi” tattooed on my back. That’s why I’m all about the South – there’s an overload to make up for what hasn’t been given to us. I’ll even give you an example: This movie Bad Boys II. This is supposed to be about two Miami cats, but you don’t hear no southern cats on the soundtrack! You didn’t hear no Trick Daddy! People don’t take enough time to embrace our culture. It’s going to take people like me and Bone Crusher and Bubba Sparxxx. We don’t want peace. We don’t want to just sit down and smoke weed. It ain’t peaceful. Those days are over. |
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