Legendz

Queensbridge, New York, one of the city’s biggest breeding grounds when it comes to combing out raw talent of the Hip-Hop variety. There’s pretty much nothing left to say about that region, because everyone is familiar with the past and present notables who paved their way through that concrete jungle, and went onto successful careers in Hip-Hop—the names stretch from Marley Marl to Craig G, and back again.

The majority of all the MC’s from that area are respected even if some of them don’t have the BDS spins to back it up, or get their videos requested regularly on shows hosted by 20-something VJ’s. Cory “Cormega” McKay happens to be one of those artists who might go unnoticed in a crowd of teens and tweens, but is well known among people who are is equal.

His path to recognition and respect hasn’t been an easy one; filled with detours, dead ends, and roadblocks. But the man who once coined himself as “MC Cor” (after MC Shan) has managed to keep himself afloat after The Firm fiasco, getting released from Def Jam, and so-called beef with you know who.

After dropping The Realness in 2001 and The True Meaning back in 2002, (which won The Source’s Underground Album Of The Year Award) he capped it off by giving fans the opportunity to hear the album t hat got shelved back in the late 90’s by Def Jam in The Testament through his Legal Hustle imprint. The name of his label suits him due to the fact of nothing being handed to him except for birth. In between time, he also released his Who Am I DVD, along with a collaboration album with fellow Queensbridge alumni, Lakey The Kid. His next project, Born & Raised will be the first from the native New Yorker in over six years, and even though he hasn’t had the opportunity to bask in the glory of inking big deals like some of his Queensbridge counterparts in the past, you can still count on his desire to make himself an even bigger deal in the future.

Sixshot.com: What have you been up to lately?

Cormega: Just chilling man, trying to put everything together…

Sixshot.com: Your new song ‘Fresh’ features a lot of legendary MC’s, how did you first come up with the concept doing a song like that?

Cormega: It wasn’t really an idea; it was just me paying respect. There is lack of respect in the rap game nowadays, so it was just me paying homage to the guys who made it easier for people such as myself. Without the Kane’s, the Puba’s, the EPMD’s, the Red Alert’s, and all the other people from that era—where would we be?

Sixshot.com: Why do you think the respect is gone in Hip-Hop?

Cormega: Because a lot of people look for excuses as opposed to solutions. You got people that blame rap’s current state on the people who have dominated the charts. People like Jay-Z, and such and such, but it’s not their fault. A new person has to come and grab the attention; nobody is going to give it to you. Plus it’s a real life thing too, like a lot of people that were crack babies are grown men now, and they’re not disciplined and they never learnt the values of respect.

Sixshot.com: Was it difficult getting everyone involved with the project?

Cormega: I don’t think it was difficult at all it was a blessing. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, because the song was a dream for me, I would’ve never thought that it would come out the way it did. I don’t have a problem with anybody, and everybody just came out. [Big Daddy] Kane came out, Parish Smith came through, and [Grand] Puba. I was in the studio with every single artist except for KRS-One, because KRS-One’s son who passed away handled it. So this song was special because I got to work with some of my favorite artists, and also because it’s the actual work that was done by KRS-One’s son. He was trying to get his feet wet in the industry, so this is one of his achievements, this song.

Sixshot.com: So what’s the whole premise behind your album, Born & Raised?

Cormega: I think this album is like a mixture of The Realness and The True Meaning. So basically with the subject matter you’re going to have some street stuff, but it’s not going to be oversaturated with street stuff. My life has changed since I last came out with an album, and it’s been about six years. I think lyrically this album is going to be just as good as anything you’ve ever heard before if not better.

Sixshot.com: Speaking of how it’s been six years since your last album, was it hard putting this one together?

Cormega: It’s never hard to get in the studio, because that’s something I love. Going to the studio for me is like a boxer going to the gym to hit the bag, and it’s all about doing something that you love. So that was the easy part.

Sixshot.com: You’ve been in the industry for well over ten years now, how do you think you’ve evolved as an artist and a man?

Cormega: As far as being an artist, I think I’ve evolved with my subject matter, because it’s a little deeper. If you listen to my most recent music, you’ll notice that I don’t use the word “b*tch” I don’t call women b*tches in my music anymore. There comes a point in your life where you have to respect certain things, and I think especially in Hip-Hop women do not get the respect they deserve. We use women as doormats, and women artists are as pioneers too. Roxanne Shanté was one of the first female artists to get regular rotation, then you got the Da Brat who was the first female artist to go platinum, and you have plenty of others. They were all serious contenders, and when you look at a list of greatest MC’s, you never see a women’s name mentioned.

Sixshot.com: And how have you evolved as a man?

Cormega: As man, I think I’ve changed because I have more responsibilities now, because I have a daughter. I understand that rap is something that I do, and it’s my job, but I’m also trying to leave a mark too. I’m not trying to be like an NBA player who gets a contract, and he sucks. Like he doesn’t bust his ass to get his money, or he’s not trying to win a ring because he already got his money. I don’t want to be that person. I want to be the person that when I’m not rapping anymore, and people talk about the rappers they felt, I want to be one of those rappers they felt.

Sixshot.com: How do you feel about your career up to this point? Do you feel like you’ve been overlooked and underrated?

Cormega: I’ve always been underrated, but I love being underrated. There are plenty of artists that would love to be underrated. There are artists that came out with albums and they’re gone right now, they’ve disappeared. So for me to be underrated that just means that somebody feels I’m not getting the respect or recognition I deserve. But as far as the industry, I can care less about it, because the industry is corny.

Sixshot.com: How so?

Cormega: Awhile back somebody was saying that I needed to come out with a strong single in order to blow up, but there’s no such thing as a strong single. You can come out with a whack single and blow, if the radio station is getting paid enough. It’s not about talent anymore, as we can tell. Look at who is prominent, and then look at the people with the most talent. It’s very rare that you’ll see someone who’s talented, and that’s also moving crazy units. I don’t care about the industry, the industry has no respect for the art; they only have respect for the dollar. This industry is the same industry that had Slick Rick on the shelf, the same industry that didn’t give Run-DMC that last shot before [Jam Master] J died, and the same industry that didn’t give LL [Cool J] a position at a label that he helped build; a guy that is the most consistent artist ever in Hip-Hop. So I don’t f*ck with the industry, I just care about the art.

Sixshot.com: Is that why you formed Legal Hustle Music?

Cormega: I created Legal Hustle Music out of necessity. I didn’t wake up like, “Oh this is the plan, we’re going to make out own label.” I’m a rapper, and I wanted to be on a label and make records, that’s what my plan was. But as I got in the industry I learnt the politics of it. There were a lot of people trying to stop me, and not just other rappers. It’s all about relationships; it’s not what you know it’s who you know. So with me, I had differences with certain people who were strong, so they were going around telling people not to f*ck with me. A lot of doors were being closed, and a lot of opportunities got evaporated. But I knew how people in the streets felt about my music, and I’ve done shows and been on tours with no record out.

After I saw the response I was getting, I decided to put out my own sh*t, and if I fail, at least I failed standing on my own two feet. I failed my way, and I’m not going to let someone destroy me as a man and as an artist. I put out The Realness through Legal Hustle, and that was just a test. I didn’t think I’d be talking to you seven years later about how it feels to be an independent artist.

I never thought I’d win The Source Award for Independent Album Of The Year. Like you said earlier, I’ve done these things and I still don’t get the respect. Recently somebody showed me something about independent artists in XXL Magazine, and they didn’t even mention me.

So it is what it is. Legal Hustle was built out of necessity, and it’s still out of necessity because this industry doesn’t respect artists. If you go home and make a demo, and one of the songs becomes the best ring tone out, you’re going to get a better deal than Rakim. [Laughs]

Sixshot.com: [Laughs] Is it hard being the boss and an artist?

Cormega: It’s defiently hard, because you have to do so many different things. As an artist, you’re always going to want to do your thing, but as a businessperson you have to strategize everything. I put out The True Meaning back in 2002, and then I won The Source Award in 2003. So after I won the award, it didn’t make sense to come out with another album, because I still wanted to promote The True Meaning. Then in 2004, I came out with the Legal Hustle Compilation, in 2005 I came out with The Testament album even though it was old and dated from the Def Jam era, but I just threw it out. We didn’t promote it heavy because it was so bootlegged. In 2006, I did the album with Lakey The Kid, and in 2007, I did the Who Am I DVD.

So people want to say I was taking long to make an album, but they don’t understand every year I was doing something else. In this industry you can’t come out with two projects in a year unless you’re a superstar. Lets just say I come out with an album in 2007, then at the end of the year I do another one. The magazine isn’t going to put me back in it, because they’ll say that I was already in there this year. But if it’s a big artist like Kanye [West], of course they’re going to put him in there, of course they’re going to put Jay-Z in there. It took long for my album to come out because I wanted everything to be right, and I didn’t want to be on a label that was going to f*ck me over. This album is so personal to me, and I’m not splitting any shares of this album with a label unless it’s going to be a hundred percent fairness.

Sixshot.com: If the opportunity presented itself, would you be interested in aligning yourself with another major label, or are you content with what you're doing now?

Cormega: I don’t think I’ll f*ck with a label unless they hit me off with the type of millions—if they hit me off the millions then I’d do it. First of all, I’m being real with myself, I don’t see myself as a superstar artist or a mainstream artist; but you never know. I think the most I’d do on a major is gold, if I had the right push. But I’m not willing to sacrifice and make those types of songs that they’d want me to do. I don’t make music for 14-year-old kids; I’m making music from my heart, and what I was raised on. Being that we were talking about bosses, the fans are the bosses. I’m the co-boss, but the fan is the boss. If the fan says they’re not feeling your sh*t, guess what? You’re fired! My fans have been so good to me, it would be a slap in the face for me to try and do something different. They’ve been keeping my lights on, so I have no ambition to change what I’ve been doing.

Sixshot.com: I remember reading about how the original Firm reunited briefly for a performance. Was that a case of them reaching out to you?

Cormega: They reached out to me. I’m not an outgoing person, or the type of person that would reach out to people; especially with a situation like that. They reached out, but it is what it is. That day was a beautiful day for Hip-Hop, but overall what was the effect of it? That was only done to bring attention to somebody’s project, that’s all that was; you know what I’m saying?

Sixshot.com: Right now in the industry, people come and go. How do you think you manage to stay in front of people’s minds?

Cormega: Because I bust my ass and I stay consistent. I’ve done so many things before other people have. Right now artists put out mixtapes before their albums, and I was the first person to do that. Nobody wants to give me my credit, and the only people that spoke on that was XXL Magazine; they did a story on it years ago. The first ‘Best Of Mega’ was out back in 1996-97, you know what I’m saying? I been putting out the mixtape albums before the album comes out. I did that as a test, I’m not trying to say I was a genius when I did it, but I did it to test the waters and see if the people would give a f*ck about me. I’ve always done things early, and I’m always different with sh*t. I been on MySpace, if you look on my page and see my join date, you’ll I was on there years ago.

If you ever come across anybody that ever met me, they’ll say I’m humble and I’m glad they say that because I’m a people person. I stay to myself, but I never say no to an autograph, I never say no to a picture, or just brush off a fan. I respect the fans, and I think they get that from me. When I do shows, I give it my all. There are times where I rapped until my voice was hoarse, and there times where I actually cried on stage. I give my fans one hundred percent and I think they see that and know that. I give you an album where you’ll be able to listen to each and every song, and I think that’s helped me.

Sixshot.com: What other things do you think have helped you along the way?

Cormega: Another thing is I reach out to other people. I’ve done songs with people in The Bay before The Bay was hot, I did songs with Maino when n*ggas was sleeping on Maino, and now Maino got the hottest song out right now. I did tracks with Sha Money XL before people were taking tracks from him. All these moves, they work out to your benefit, and they get reciprocated. Cause now I can always get a beat from Sha [Money XL], now I can get something from Maino, or I’ll just have that respect from Maino, and I get super love in The Bay. It’s all about unity and having strength in numbers.

Sixshot.com: Do you think New York is lacking in the “strength in numbers” department?

Cormega: New York used to be hot, but New York killed each other off. You can be hot, and then another rapper comes and disses you, then another rapper comes and disses him. It’s like big fish eat little fish. If we stuck together, and kept each other hot and dope, New York would stay on top. I’m with the unity; I’m not with the beef. Even in Queensbridge. You got Lakey [The Kid] and you got Prodigy—they have their differences, and I grew up with both of them. I f*ck with Lakey, and Prodigy is my man; I met him in the streets with the music. I wish there was no beef, and I wish we were all cool, this way everybody could get money and stay hot.

I’m not the biggest artist from Queensbridge, but I’ve worked with more artists from Queensbridge than any artist you can name. I worked with Craig G, I worked with Tragedy [Khadafi], I worked with [MC] Shan, I worked with Marley [Marl], I worked with Screwball, Mobb Deep, CNN, Nature, Nas, Lakey, and I’m not even thinking hard. There’s no other artist from Queensbridge period that can say that. And that’s one of things that also kept me where I’m at. I show love and I get love, so that’s one thing I’m blessed with.