~GS16~

Theodore Unit - Every Man Is A Boss

Interview By: Michael Ivey



The bare manila walls leading to Howard University’s WHBC 830 AM studios probably reminded Trife and Shawn Wigs of a Staten Island project hallway. Though the two roll with hip hop’s grizzled style guru Ghostface and his Theodore Unit, progress is often a slow burner and these emcees have yet to reap the heavy exposure often afforded a legend’s squad.

Trife Da God emerged with a razor sharp verse on “Theodore” (‘Bullet Proof Wallets,’ 2001) and has since blessed each of his big homie’s solos. Ghost introduced Shawn Wigs on the Theodore compilation ‘718,’ then the only white boy in the clique got busy on April’s ‘Fishscale.’

As Def Jam handlers ushered the Unit into HU’s cozy college radio headquarters splattered with posters of Ghost’s face surrounded by shark bait, and stickers reading ‘More Fish,’ the two younger cats could see the distance between SI and Def Jam in the steely expression on their leader’s mug that seemed to read ‘Aight. Y’all know da time man.’



Ghost’s first two Def Jam releases garnered some of his loftiest billboard spots to date (‘Fishscale,’ #4 and ‘Pretty Tony,’ #6), allowing him to carve out a space for his own crew to get busy on the main stage. So, with lighting speed akin to super hero label boss Jay-Z, rap’s original Ironman is back like that-nine months later- with ‘More Fish’ and more Theodore. In his second interview with NBS in the past year Ghost makes his Unit’s presence abundantly clear, explains why we can’t only blame Jay-Z for ’06 Def Jam flops and why it doesn’t matter what his Sun God spits.

Ghostface : It’s the Theodore Unit man; this is Trife, Wigs and them. Just want everybody just to get familiar, so the questions ain’t gotta be all on me.

Nobodysmiling.com : OK. That’s a bet. Your son is on ‘More Fish’ right?

Ghostface : Yeah. SG. He’s on “Street Opera” and “Miguel Sanchez.”

Nobodysmiling.com : Was it a difficult decision, getting him involved in this shady music business?

Ghostface : Nah. He just laid a verse down. It’s like ya know…I’m more or less in the business. That’s my seed. He just laid a verse down-a couple of verses down- and that was it.

Nobodysmiling.com : OK. What most impresses you about his style at such a young age?

Ghostface : I mean he’s young; he’s saying what the people wanna hear nowadays; his delivery is alright. And, you know, he just doing him right now.

Nobodysmiling.com : OK.

Ghostface : Yeah. You know what I’m saying? More or less than impresses me is like…that’s my seed; that’s my son. So regardless of what, just to see what he’s-hear em doing what he do, with his father, is like that’s the most…the best shit ever.

Nobodysmiling.com : Word. Must be really proud.

Ghostface : Yeah. That’s all.

Nobodysmiling.com :What’s the most significant thing that’s happened in your life during the making of ‘More Fish?’ You’ve said the only difference between your albums is what you may be going through during that time.

Ghostface : I mean ain’t nothing-I’m still striving and struggling. Um…working hard; just touring a lot; been touring for like almost this whole year and…ain’t nothing really new just coming except for the news that they want a new album probably if I could do it. And that was it though- cause this was kinda like quick; we just put it together and that was it.



Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah. OK.

Ghostface : Yeah.

Nobodysmiling.com : What up Trife man?

Trife Da God : What up? What up?

Nobodysmiling.com : You made your first appearance on ‘Bullet Proof’

Trife Da God : Yeah-yeah.

Nobodysmiling.com :So what are you bringing on ‘More Fish’. It’s more Trife.

Trife Da God : Just bringing more heat. Got a few joints-I got like four or five joints on this album. I got a dolo song on there, so you really gon feel me out on this one like previous albums also. Word up. Got my man Wigs on the album; he got a dolo on there. This album’s more like-it’s a Ghostface album but it’s featuring Theodore Unit. So it’s like you gon hear us out-hear the team out-and this is gon open up doors for the rest of the movement.

Nobodysmiling.com : So it’s more in the vain of the ‘718’ project?

Trife Da God : Yeah; sort of like that; it’s in that same realm or whatever-same lane.

Nobodysmiling.com : How do you feel about the way the ‘Put It on the Line’ joint came out? Did that get the attention you guys put the work in for?

Trife Da God : Yeah I think that was a good album. It did what it did independently. We only shipped probably like 25,000 copies. I think it almost-it hit the limit or whatever. But the feedback from there was real good; people hit me up on my Myspace-they tell me they love the album and I feel real good about it cause it showed the people more sides of me that they never heard; cause usually they just hear me spitting sixteens on the record. So on there you heard full songs from me by myself, so the people, they opened up to me and they knew where I was coming from on that.

Nobodysmiling.com : Getting more familiar.

Trife Da God : Yeah-yeah. Exactly. Word up.

Nobodysmiling.com : OK Trife. Wigs what up man? How are you?

Wigs : I’m good! Good! I’m here.

Nobodysmiling.com : So what’s your lane? What you holding down in the Unit?

Wigs : I’m just moving how the Unit moving. The album came along great-we all been reaching into our goodie bags- threw some solos on there. I went a little emotional-got a little sensitive joint on there with my man Eamon; poker song-we playing cards. Me, Ghost and Redman got joint-it’s just crazy. The album is crazy.

Nobodysmiling.com : More sensitive joints?

Wigs : Yeah-yeah. I was going through a lil thing with the wiz and all of that, so I mentioned that: holding onto loved ones and things like that. The whole albums just candy-it’s ear candy. It’s fried fish for y’all.

Nobodysmiling.com : I know it’s gonna sound cliché, but-

Wigs : Nah go head; go ahead; go ahead.

Nobodysmiling.com : You’re the only white boy rolling with the crew. Do you get a lot of ‘Who is this?’

Wigs : Yeah. Yeah. Yeah-of course. It’s good though cause in a way it brings a lil attention to me, but once I start opening my mouth- they hear lil darts and all that-it’s like ‘OK. Now I see why Ghost picked you up-why he be messing with the team,’ because Ghost is the elite-every top countdown Ghost always one of the top five emcee so-

Nobodysmiling.com : Hits for days.

Wigs : Always. So it’s like you know how we pick it up. And it’s like I’m just here. I represent. I rep for everybody. I rep for the white boys; for the hood; for black people. I rep for everybody, so I’m just here.



Nobodysmiling.com : That’s what’s up. What was it, ‘02/’03 you signed with Def Jam?

Ghostface : One of them shits. I don’t know.

Nobodysmiling.com : If you knew then that Jay would become president would you have made the same decision?

Ghostface : Yes.

Nobodysmiling.com :Why is that?

Ghostface : Because I’d rather talk to him than talk to anybody else right now; he’s somebody you can relate to; we from the same place. So with him in that position it’s good for me cause we can go head and get a understanding like ‘Yo, listen…whatever, whatever, whatever;’ ‘stead of talking to a sixty year old muthafucka that don’t know what the fuck is going on.

Nobodysmiling.com : Who can’t relate.

Ghostface : Yeah. So that’s all.

Nobodysmiling.com : On the flipside of that, LL and your Wu brother Meth have spoken out about a perceived lack of interest and concern about their projects. Jay said you made a great album that you should be proud of, so wouldn’t you deserve more of a push if anyone?

Ghostface : I mean it is what it is. I can’t hold him against it because it’s not his fault. If anybody’s fault it’s the buildings’ fault. Jay is one man- can’t just keep coming at Jay like that. It’s the building. Jay gotta answer to other muthafuckas inside that building. So he’s not-he’s a boss but he got bosses too. You feel what I’m saying? So everybody’s throwing the missile at him, when it’s like yo you gotta look at the whole building as a whole. You feel me?

Nobodysmiling.com : So you feel like the workers-the guys on the street-

Ghostface : Come on, yeah. All that shit! Yeah! Yeah! Dudes in there talking for you and making sure that ya shit is right. So it’s not really his fault. And plus he’s new in there. Everybody’s new in there. So, you know, when you in something that’s new you gotta like go through things to fix em.

Nobodysmiling.com : And grow.

Ghostface : Yeah. Exactly. So it may take a year-two years-before he really get it like ‘OK. This is how we want it now.’ You know what I mean? You ain’t gon just win the championship soon as you fuckin get up in there like that G. It don’t work like that. You feel me?

Nobodysmiling.com : That’s real.

Ghostface : But I understand Method Man’s shit cause he was there before me and everybody else. LL was there before everybody-since they made that shit-so they used to a way on how certain shit is ran in there. You feel me?

Nobodysmiling.com : Right.

Ghostface : -from all that times like that. But now you got-the muthafuckas that used to run it, they not there no more. You got muthafuckas in.

Nobodysmiling.com : And new artists and priorities.

Ghostface : Yeah. You got more artists - like a hundred artists. So you can’t just focus on just this person or that person. You feel me? That’s how come I gotta do what I gotta do G-and stay out and grind it out and whatever I can get I gotta get it. Like that- not depending on the building too much.

Nobodysmiling.com : Independently.

Ghostface : Yeah. So, you know, we here man! That’s what it is man.

Nobodysmiling.com : How many more albums are on your Def Jam contract?

Ghostface : Probably like two. Maybe like two more maybe and shit. But it’s all good man. Whatever it is, it is man. These are just contracts man; these are deals man.

Nobodysmiling.com : What’s up with the ‘Swift and Changeable’ joint with MF Doom? Is that coming along?

Ghostface : Yeah we ain’t really-since we did all that other shit-we ain’t do nothing yet. We still got more shit we gotta record and um…we definitely gon get back at that though. But we both doing what we gotta do right now.

Nobodysmiling.com : Word. When I talked to you last fall you felt like he kind of freshened things up-brought you back with the music that you could really mess with and inspired you.

Ghostface : Yeah he gotta good ear; him, Madlib, Dilla-they all got the same ears. So that’s what it is.

Nobodysmiling.com : It’s a little down the line, but would you like that to be a Def Jam release?

Ghostface : I mean whatever’s the best for both our best interests, than that’s what it is.

Nobodysmiling.com : OK. You say you listen to a lot of oldies and soul classics, but there have been some alright Hip Hop albums this year. Do you have a favorite album from ’06?

Ghostface : Um…a favorite album? No I don’t.

Nobodysmiling.com : Nah?

Ghostface : No.

Nobodysmiling.com : Not at all?

Ghostface : Nah.

Nobodysmiling.com : So what are you bumping? Still the oldies?

Ghostface : Nah I’m just-I’m not really bumping shit. I’m just-I don’t listen to the radio like that and shit. So whatever we got in truck- right now we got Hov in the truck; we got our shit in the truck and… that’s it.

Nobodysmiling.com : OK. You want to leave the people with anything before we wrap up?

Ghostface : Yeah yo: all I wanna just say is peace and love man. Keep God in ya life man. Theodore Unit too at the same time man. Wu Tang is forever. Go get the album man, ‘More Fish.’ That’s what it is and we gon keep putting it down for the people that been supporting us since day one. That’s what it do. Word up.

Nobodysmiling.com : That’s a bet. I appreciate your time as always brother.

Ghostface : Alright; true indeed. No doubt; respect that.