Cool Nutz

King Cool
The Conundrum of Cool Nutz
BY GRAHAM BAREY

According to evolutionary scientists, about 10 million years ago an ambitious amphibian crawled out of the primordial ooze and croaked a series of strange noises which would—in the distant future—form the foundation for all the world's languages. Shortly thereafter it took up rapping, named itself Cool Nutz, and recorded a debut album, Dis Nigga's Nutz. That is the commonly accepted biography of Terrance Scott, the man uneasily dubbed "The Godfather of Portland Hiphop." What's wrong with that title? It's a nice thing to say about your grandpa, but right after you do so, I bet you leave him in the corner to collect dust.

The book on Cool Nutz is not incorrect. He has been making albums and performing shows since the early '90s, and he first picked up a mic around the time that most of Portland's younger hiphop practitioners were clutching their first pacifier. Nutz was even signed to Atlantic Records for a time. "[The Atlantic deal] kind of went sour, but when I dropped Harsh Game for the People, the ball really started rolling," he says.

That was a decade and several albums ago. But just in the past year alone, Cool Nutz has released two albums to widespread acclaim—a collaboration with Luni Coleone, and his newest solo record, King Cool Nutz. The albums have sold well and even garnered rave reviews in publications like The Source. With his next record scheduled to drop in the summer of 2008 on a nationally known label, and his recent work the best of his career, why is Cool Nutz still fighting to gain a reputation as a legitimate artist in his hometown?

I would posit that it has to do with race and circumstance. "Most of the powers that be out here... aren't going to predominantly be into the kind of music I make," says Cool Nutz. "I guess because it's considered a little menacing or urban."

In a town where the heavy majority of the hiphop fans—and music writers like myself—are white, Cool Nutz's brand of street rhymes has not always had a comfortable home. It's hard to say for sure what effect the racial composition of his audience has had on his career (and Nutz refuses to draw direct connections himself) but it's a situation worth noting. It's well documented that people turn out in droves in Portland for hiphop produced by bigger underground acts, as well as the ubiquitous radio-friendly groups, but seldom for the in-between emcees like Cool Nutz, who raps from a street perspective despite lacking a massive promotional budget for his albums.

Regardless of his titles, his history, Cool Nutz is a gifted rapper with a commanding stage presence. His well-received performance this past New Year's Eve alongside the Wu-Tang Clan was proof of that. It's a hard fight against forces outside of his control, but Cool Nutz is not angry. "I don't want to be called 'The Greatest Rapper in Portland.' All I want is, if I rocked a show, say I rocked it. If I put out a good album, say I put out a good album."

- The Portland Mercury Jan. 24

[HIP-HOP] Being Cool Nutz poses a few occupational hazards. Aging gracefully in a young man’s game would be hard for anybody, but Nutz, a.k.a. Terrance Scott, has spent the last decade releasing music to little local press—against the backdrop of a seemingly endless string of violence that has taken the lives of his best friend and his brother, among others. He gives a shrug and a nod when post-traumatic stress disorder is suggested. Still, he says from a window booth at Northwest 23rd Avenue’s McMenamins Tavern and Pool, “As long as I’ve been making music, I feel like I’m where I want to be.”

In 1997, Cool Nutz released Harsh Game for the People, a funky, slang-infused cruise through the streets of pre-gentrification Northeast that’s widely considered the first classic Portland hip-hop record (he’s released nearly 10 since). “I didn’t have no real expectations,” Nutz says of Harsh Game, which he produced and released with money from a disintegrated deal with Atlantic.

Nutz took that initial success and ran with it, starting a booking and management company in addition to Jus Family Records. The rapper carries two cell phones, and at least one is usually ringing. It’s a far cry from the days before Harsh Game, when making a Nutz record was easy. “Hustlin’ and makin’ music,” he says with a laugh. “That’s all we were doing. And kickin’ it and playing video games.”

Despite all the multitasking, Nutz is in the midst of his most prolific period. He released a collaborative album with Luni Coleone, Every Single Day, earlier this year and has at least two in store for ’08. This week sees the release of the half-jokingly titled King Cool Nutz. The album’s themes—street violence, the rap game, the City of Roses—haven’t changed, but Nutz has found new perspective as a game vet. On “Written in My Book,” city violence surfaces again: “Don’t glamorize that, chastise that/ These rats, these snitches that blasphemize that/ The codes, the morals, the street etiquette/ Take heed to the warning how hot the lead’ll get.”

Not all of the tracks on King Nutz have a PSA attached—the swagger that has become the rapper’s trademark is in full effect on the Bosko-produced “Deal with Me,” and “Yo Mouth” is an dirty R&B send-up that’s among the funniest, filthiest things Nutz has been involved with. But Nutz’s reflective moments are also his most compelling. While he gives praise to the “almighty game god” on “Have It My Way,” the relentless violence is enough to make him admit, in person, that “it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”


- Willamette Week Nov.28, 2007

Too often, Portland hip-hop has seemed like a Boston Red Sox world championship or certain major events forecast by Judeo-Christian theology: always just about to arrive, never quite arriving.
It's not that the city lacks hip-hop heritage, though this secret history is known to few. "There's been a beneath-the-surface volcano of hip-hop here since 1982," says Vursatyle, Portland native and one of two MCs for the group Lifesavas. "There are MCs who I would put in my top 50 of all time who were playing out here as local MCs in the early '80s. They may not have had records in the shops, but there are those sacred mix tapes that are still passed around--Freshness at Work, the Dynamic Soundmachine, the Aladdin Two. I mean, these are people who were making music at the same time Whodini was."

And the problem has never been a dearth of work ethic--Cool Nutz and his Jus' Family Records associates, among many others, have built plenty of sweat equity in the scene. Neither has hip-hop struggled for the spotlight simply because Portland is more sauce mayonnaise than café au lait. The genre smashed the commercial color line long ago. And, even though officialdom is sometimes less than friendly, you can't just blame The Man.

No, in the past Portland hip-hop plain lacked the critical mass to burst out of the local underground or the regional shadows of L.A. and the Bay. In the last year or so, though, we've seen signs of change.

Proz n Conz, Cool Nutz and OlDominion released dynamic new albums. New artists like Starchile came out of the woodwork. At least one new label, BSI Records' subsidiary One Drop, launched. And Portland cemented a reputation as a fine place for out-of-town talent to play, crowds frequently packing mid-sized venues in addition to the suburbanite-magnet shows at the Rose Garden. Portland hip-hop begins to look like a scene that's come of age, a maturity illuminated in different ways by two shows this weekend.

First up will be the seventh incarnation of POH-Hop, the festival that's served as something of an annual check-up on PDX hip-hop. Like past editions, this year features talent from up and down the coast, strong Northwest flavor and a name headliner in Dru Down, the Bay Area artist responsible for the track "Pimp of the Year."

But while previous POH-Hops were spread over two days and, sometimes, two venues, this year's "Holiday Edition" rocks just one night at the Roseland. According to organizer Cool Nutz, this means POH-Hop 7 won't be as broadly representative as past festivals.

"This year isn't an exact indication of where hip-hop is at in Portland, or what's happening with everyone," he says. "There's just not enough time to get everyone I wanted on the bill, and there are groups I'd like to play that have other things going on. Plus, the headliner represents a certain genre of music, so I tried to get a lineup that would complement that. It's like, you wouldn't have Calobo open up for GWAR."

Of course, it remains to be seen how successful this compact POH-Hop will be. But the fact that Señor Nutz feels comfortable with this short format seems healthy for a couple of reasons.

First, the festival has enough history to stand on its own without catering to fans of every genre splinter group.

"When we're passing out fliers, people are like, 'Oh, POH-Hop's back!'" Cool Nutz says. "It's not so much about the names on the bill. It's more that this event has been a rallying point for a lot of years now."

Second, Portland hip-hop in general has enough momentum and diversity that one festival no longer must shoulder the flag for the entire scene. Case in point: The very night after POH-Hop, the local trio Lifesavas plays a show celebrating the release of its debut 12-inch single on the Bay Area's Quannum Projects label.

"Headexercise" is a generous slab of frenetic hip-hop, an entertaining balance of gritty mic warfare and ambitious production. MCs Jumbo and Vursatyl trade furious blasts of verse; Rayzor Shines, the group's DJ, lends wicked scratching to the title track. Meanwhile, producer Chief Xcel of the popular Bay Area group Blackalicious weaves a buoyant blend of clever samples, stark beats and plush, old-school funk.

"I think Xcel enjoys the wit that we bring, and he plays off that," says Jumbo. "That made a light bulb explode in his mind, see. Basically, this record has Lifesavas' intensity, with some elements of the Blackalicious sound."

Lifesavas' fruitful collaboration with the Bay Area indie label means a quantum leap in publicity and marketing. National hip-hop mags are slinging ink, national and international tours are in the works. As for the home front, "Headexercise" provides a glimpse of an increasingly imminent future in which Portland is no longer labeled terra incognita on hip-hop's global map.

"Places like Germany, England and Japan have just started finding their voice in hip-hop," notes Vursatyle. "Portland's had its voice for 20. Now, I think, Portland is finally on the verge of making some international headway."

- Willamette Week

I stopped seriously listening to Rap music in 1995, so forgive any ignorance on my part in this review. Why did I stop? Commercialism, Sean Combs, Rap-Rock, and Wiggers pretty much sum it up. Like many people, I will claim that I listened to Hip-Hop in it’s golden era. A time before the mainstream took it over, where even the majors were putting out solid acts. Nowadays, popular rap artists are too busy working on their TV or movie roles, with all the various endorsements, to work on solid albums. As soon as mini-mall white dudes in oversized jerseys started calling me “dog”, I decided I was out. My music sensibilities always tell me that when something gets too popular, it’s just not cool anymore. This is unfortunate, because just as a suffering lineup in the mainstream has been an absolute boon for underground rock, it has nurtured a burgeoning underground hip-hop scene, as well.


Terrance Scott, a.k.a. Cool Nutz, is obviously a hard working individual, and his project Collabos, which is a collection of collaborations he has done through the years on various albums, is a testament to that work ethic. Imagine a heart that has to pump blood from Portland, through Sacto, the bay, LA, across Texas to the Fifth Ward, through the Dirty South, up to Philly and New York, back across the midwest to Seattle, returning for oxygen in Portland. The metaphor reflects his phone list, tour schedule and latest release all in one.


I’d like to say the album has a Portland sound, but I don’t know what the Portland sound is. I’d like to call it West Coast, but it’s bigger than that. I hear the G-funk glide of LA, the Bounce of the Bay, and the stripped down spooky Southern style. Lyrically, I hear the lazy, sing song spits of the west along with the busier lyrical barrages of the east.


Collabos is hip-hop universal. Like our global economy, it needs not a country of origin, but only a cunning CEO. You think your Indie band has it bad? Imagine trying to produce hip-hop out of Portland. Cool Nutz does it well, for while he is proud to represent Portland, he is also aware that without alliances nationwide, the ship won’t sail.


The album itself has a large cast of characters including Spice 1, Yukmouth, Mac Dre, and B-legit of The Click fame along with his closest collaborators, his partner Bosko, Poppa LQ, and label mate Maniac Lok. While the diversity of tracks might take away from the cohesiveness of the project as a whole, this album would be a good introduction to where your home town fits on the hip-hop map. Most rap listeners are reluctant to hear anything that doesn’t come from the Bay, LA, New York, or the South, even if the artist is local to the area. That is a big mistake! If you think there’s nothin’ hard coming out of Portland you would be very misinformed. This shit is straight up hip-hop. Crossover Outkast fans need not apply.


The Portland Rock underground could learn a lot from the type of unity I see represented by Collabos, and the tenacity of Terrance Scott and associates. Portland residents could learn a lot about underground hip-hop if they just listened to one of their neighbors, Cool Nutz. Give it a try, Collabos is a great beginning if you don’t know where to start. The shit is dope and grown locally.
Stand out Tracks: Rude Boyz, Behind the Scenes, Thug Shit, Shiesty Cats, Holla What’s Up. -nno
www.jusfamilyrecords.com

- The Music Liberation Project

COOL NUTZ & BOSKO
WC2K: Can you speak on the projects you have been workin on?

Cool Nutz: Basically, we started puttin out our albums out in 92. The first Cool Nutz album was "This Nigga's Nutz". Then we put a Cool Nutz single which did real well. Then after that we did a deal with Big Beat / Atlantic and we put out our albums independently with one of my groups Kenny Mack & G-Ism which was called "Nuthin But The Family". Me and Bosko were workin on our albums on Big Beat / Atlantic, but that didnt work out so we got out the deal. Then we put out the first real Cool Nutz CD which was "Harsh Game For The People", it had Yukmouth on there, Poppa LQ, Bosko, and the whole roster from the label. After that we came back with a Portland Hip Hop compilation double CD called "The Western Conference Allstars" which featured alot of Portland artists. Then after that we put out 2 albums on the same day, we put out G-Ism featuring Cool Nutz "On A Mission" and Izay as the next which was an R&B album. After that we put out Cool Nutz "Speakin Upon A Million", then Maniac Lok "I'm Back" and then the D.B.A. album "Doing Business As..." and then we did Cool Nutz "Verbal Porn". And right now we're putting out Cool Nutz & Maniac Lok "The Goon Sqwad" album, and we're puttin that out with C-Bo. That has E-40, B.G., Kurupt, C-Bo, Yukmouth, all my artists from the label. And then we also have the compilation "E-40 Presents Super Producer Bosko's That Fire". And those are both coming out on West Coast Mafia in June.



WC2K: So how did everything start for you, from growing up to gettin in Rap business as an artist?


Cool Nutz: I mean basically we started out Breakdancing and stuff. And at the time we started Breakdancing it kinda went out. So Bosko had some turntables and a keyboard. And we decided that we were gonna get serious about the music thing, so we started puttin together demos, and as we started puttin together demos we decided we should put out some albums. And from there Jus Family Records started, and we started pushin it. Bosko started producing for other people. And then the business side of things started rollin.



WC2K: Did the street life influence your music?


Cool Nutz: Yeah definitely, cause we both grew up in Northeast Portland which is basically Portlands inner city. So we were always in the Urban enviroment so of course that kinda stuff always rubbed off on you. We had gangs migrate to Portland in like 1986. And that started poppin off here. Cats started gettin shot and killed and drugs came in. The city kinda changed so the whole street element was always around.



WC2K: Can you talk about Jus Family Records, who's signed to the label?


Cool Nutz: Right now who we have on the label is of course Cool Nutz, Bosko, Maniac Lok, Brotha Luv, The Phranchise, Bleek, and my boy Dj Chill are all on Jus Family Records. And what you can expect from the stuff that we have coming out, like the Goon Sqwad album is basically more on some West Coast G-Unit type of stuff. Its street but not super-street, kinda inbetween. Its something on there for everybody, its a real versatile album. A lot of people gonna be real surprised with the production. We got Bosko on there producin, my boy Toywoard, my boy Underrated from Humble County, Jeff Simmons. We just got some fire on it. And on the Bosko compilation, he produced the whole thing. He got E-40 on there, Lil Jon, C-Bo, Bubba Sparxxx, Kurupt, Tray Deee, Outlawz, Truth Hurts and a host of other people. You know we been in the game and people know who we are, but feel like we still haven't got our fair shape. People know us but now its time for people to start knowing us and the music.



WC2K: Portland might not be the first place that is thought of when Hip Hop is mentioned to the average Rap listener. Are you trying to put out a message and prove those people wrong by puttin Portland on the map?


Cool Nutz: I mean, of course you want people to recognize your city. But first and foremost we want people to respect us. And after they respect us, they respect where we coming from. Like when they first heard Nelly, they heard Nelly and then they found out he was from St. Louis. So we want people to hear Cool Nutz, Bosko, Maniac Lok and everybody. And then, once they hear the music and they feeling the music, then they equate us with being from Portland.




WC2K: Are you happy with the Hip Hop scene out there in Portland?


Cool Nutz: Honestly, I dont really look at it as me being happy with the Hip Hop scene, because I'm really concerned with what I'm doing. I mean there is stuff out there that I do enjoy, but there is Gangsta Rap songs that I dont like, there is Radio songs that I dont like, there is Backpack Rap songs that I dont like, its with any kind of music. But right now Im so focused on what Im doing that what everybody else is doing is not important cause I feel like they're gettin my money and my attention.



WC2K: What keeps you motivated to keep on releasing albums after being underrated for so long?


Cool Nutz: Because even though I'm not Jay-Z, I'm not E-40 and I havent had that kind of success yet, I have done alot of things that I'm proud of and I've sold records and I got fans. I worked with cats that I grew up listening to, and now they respect me they know who I am and we're doing songs together. Its a constant progression, so its alot of things going on where I feel like we have elevated what we're doing and we're constantly elevating and its only gonna get better.



WC2K: What happened to your solo album "I Hate Cool Nutz"? Is that one still coming out?


Cool Nutz: Yea, the "I Hate Cool Nutz" album will be out after the Goon Sqwad & Bosko compilation. And that will be "E-40 Presents I Hate Cool Nutz". But we did this deal with C-Bo to put out 2 albums, so we're gonna put out the Goon Sqwad album and the Bosko compilation before that.



WC2K: What's the vibe on those new records like? Is there any new sound to it?


Cool Nutz: Its not really a new sound, its just more progressive. I've been doing music for a long time, but at the same time I feel like I'm always trying to progress and be better than I was last time, and I feel like we've gotten better. So I feel like the music is just more progressive, the delivery is better, the song ideas are better.




WC2K: Jus Family Records released the "Militia Mixtape" which was slept on. Talk about that real quick.


Cool Nutz: Well the thing is, the "Militia Mixtape" has new stuff on it, there is some classic stuff on it, and then there is stuff with us rappin over other peoples beats. Songs with E-40, Yukmouth, Jayo Felony, D-Shot, Richie Rich, Pop Lock, my boy E-Dogg from Seattle, Mr. D.O.G...and of course the whole Jus Family Records roster, thats Bosko, Cool Nutz, Maniac Lok, Brotha Luv, The Phranchise, Bleek, and Poppa LQ. And thats basically the sound of it, but you would have to hear what we're doing to get in touch with it you know.

And then there is Boskos mixtape, "The Next Files". That has some fire on it too. You can hit us at the website and order that from JusFamilyRecords.com or at Bombay2K.com. All we want from people is to send us a postage, a $1.10 and we will send them a free mixtape. Because its basically free, all you're paying for is the shipping. Cause we put it together, and how much music can you get for a album or for a mixtape for $1.10.



WC2K: Do you think your album will ever have the chance to make it to the forefront of the mainstream?


Cool Nutz: Yeah I definitely do. But I think we just need the right push behind the projects, thats all.



WC2K: What are the benefits of rollin with an independent label?


Cool Nutz: The benefits are that we're able to control what we wanna do. I can put out records when I want to, I can record when I want to, I go on tour when I want to. Its not for a label to do what I do, I pay for what I'm doing. I make a living doing music, thats all I do full time. So theres no control factor in what we're doing. We do what we wanna do. And Im not saying that we wouldnt want a major to be involved. We want a major to be involved, but just help us keep on doing the way we doing it.



WC2K: So would you rather keep it the underground way or sign with a major again?


Cool Nutz: I mean, yeah.. when we did the deal with Universal, that was a blessing. I learned alot from it, we got alot of money from it. The whole thing was real beneficial. And if we went to another deal, we would have more knowledge from what we did with that deal. I mean everything is a learning situation. It wasnt a bad situation, it was just that the industry changed, the company changed and certain things you dont have control over.



WC2K: Why do you think that West Coast Rap doesnt get any recognition from the masses anymore?


Cool Nutz: I think what happened is that the kind of music that we're doing has to envolve, it has to grow. It kinda stayed the same and theres only a couple artists that elaborated on that. And when the major labels came out here and signed everybody from the Bay and everybody from LA, they kinda just like picked them up and dumped them. They left them and never made any more commitment to them. So its attributed to couple of things, part of it is the music, and part of it its the way the industry threats them. The industry doesnt really show the West Coast artists the same love as they show other artists, and that affects the whole industry.



WC2K: When you say its the music, do you think its lacking in the production or the lyrics?


Cool Nutz: I think its a litte bit of both. I mean I feel like you have artists out here that are progressive and that are doing things. But those artists dont get the proper spotlight. I mean you got artists like E-40, WC, Yukmouth, you got Mac Dre. You got alot of artists like that, they're just not getting the push from labels that they deserve. Somebody like E-40, he should be really going Gold everytime out. But its hard when the label is not giving him the proper push to see him succeed to what he's capable of doing.



WC2K: So when your record drops, what are you hoping for and what will make you happy?


Cool Nutz: What will make me happy is if I do it on the independent level sale considerable units. Me to be able to go out on tour and people respect me and what Im doing. And have some longetivity in the game. I mean I already have longetivity and been in the game for a minute, but being able to turn it up a little bit, as opposed to just tourin the West Coast. Being able touring the West Coast, the Mid-West, Down South, the East Coast. Being able to get on a nice tour with somebody else and expose people to what we are doing. Let people know that Jus Family, Cool Nutz, Bosko, Maniac Lok, we aint playing. And if we do it on a major level, do it where we have the videos, and we have the push that we deserve from the label, radio support and all of those things. Those are the things that count that will make a record successful.



WC2K: I guess thats gonna be kinda hard with the situation and how it is right now!


Cool Nutz: Yeah but I feel like one of the things that we have is that even though that we're doing it from a independent level, we do certain things from a major standpoint in a sense of publicity and press and gettin out promoting our stuff and touring and things of that nature. We do alot of stuff that alot of independent West Coast artists dont do. You can only create sales if you're out workin, but if you're not out workin and not trying to make a project successful, it aint gonna happen, even on a small level. Everybody's hoping to take it back to the days when the West Coast was running it. But right now we're not at that point, we just gotta get back on deck, get back on board, get people back to understand that they need to feel what we're doing. Because we do got alot of hard artists. I mean you got the Jayo Felonys out here, you got the Xzibits, Dj Quik, The Relativez, theres so many cats that deserve the spotlight. And thats what its gonna take for the West Coast to get back where it needs to be. Its beyond the music, its about the labels pushin us. Cause you see that people are listening, because you got people like Jay-Z who're getting Quik to make beats, So So Def signed Daz Dillinger. People are paying attention to the West Coast, its just that we need to get it back where the West Coast is a powerhouse.



WC2K: I guess thats kinda frustrating isnt it?


Cool Nutz: I mean its a little frustrating, but we got a whole West Coast market out here, people that wanna hear it. I mean there is a whole nation, Snoop still goes platinum, its just that we need more artists that go platinum other than Snoop and Dre. Like I said, we need the Quiks, the E-40's, the Yukmouths, the Relativez, and people like that that are puttin out good albums, that need to be heard and need the push and the attention.



WC2K: You mentioned your website JusFamilyRecords.com, is the whole internet helping you push it in any way?


Cool Nutz: Yeah I definitely feel like it helps. Cause if you dont have a video and you aint on the radio all the time, the internet is one way for you to get in touch with the world. I mean Im doing this interview with you because of the internet, so thats a typical example that there is alot of opportunities out there. I mean there is alot of artists that are selling alot of records off the internet that would never be really selling them kinda units if it wasnt for the internet.




WC2K: Aight Bosko, whats going on with you?



Bosko: Man Im in the studio right now rockin the talkbox! Right now doing something with Dj Felli Fel from Power 106. But look out for the "That Fire" compilation with the self-titled first single, thats with E-40 on it, C-Bo, Cool Nutz and myself. Im rappin on the compilation, singin, producing, doing the talkbox, playing the ukulele, everything man. You know, I produced the whole thing, from top to bottom. And we got a whole bunch of guest appearances too, we got a cut with Lil Jon on there, Kurupt, WC, B.G. of The Hot Boyz, Tray Deee from Tha Eastsidaz, C-Bo and E-40 of course on a couple of different cuts, Cool Nutz, Maniac Lok, Cryciz, Max Julian, Truth Hurts and some more.




WC2K: How did the joint venture with C-Bo and E-40 come into the picture?


Bosko: Well me and E-40 been workin together for years, so it really made sense to talk about doing something together. And I kinda started workin with C-Bo in the last few years, we been workin real tight. Like I mixed the last 3 albums with him. And I produced like 20 tracks for him in the last couple years, we just had a good vibe and they had a good situation so we figured why not team up and do something together.



WC2K: Now that you worked on it so hard, do you got any expectations for the project?


Bosko: You know I think its just one of those things where the Sky is the limit because not only do we have records for the streets of the following of C-Bo, and E-40 kinda gives us a little bit of that crossover. And then I'm bringin production style one some of the tracks that are heard around the country, worldwide, the radio and clubs, its not really too street so its like universal. And then the singing that I'm doing is a whole other dimension. Its gonna start slow and it can build, you know we're trying to win Grammys around here.



WC2K: Is there anything else you wanna say to the people who read this?


Cool Nutz: I just wanna make sure that people are paying attention, and are getting ready for Cool Nutz, Bosko, and the whole Jus Family Records. All the albums we got coming, everything we doing, Portland, Seattle, the whole Northwest. Keep your ear to the concrete and keep on listening. Log on to JusFamilyRecords.com to see what we got coming as far as shows, news and updates. Log on to Bombay2K.com to stay up to date of what we got going on.

- World Wide Westside Magazine

THIS IS PORTLAND HIPHOP
POH-Hop 8 Glues It Back Together
by Julianne Shepherd



POH-Hop 8

Thur Dec 18 & Fri Dec 19

Ash Street Saloon

& Berbati's Pan


In 1995, when Terence Scott (better known as Cool Nutz) started staging the Portland Oregon Hip-Hop Festival (better known as POH-Hop), hiphop was a lot different. Not just locally, when only a few groups were coming up; but nationally, before the music of hiphop was divided by genre. It was before the invisible lines between hiphop artists--and its fans--were drawn; before there was an established delineation between genres such as "gangsta rap," "backpacker/ underground hiphop," or, more absurdly, "goth-hop," "emo-hop," "pop-hop," et cetera and so forth. It was before those delineations were vague signifiers of where your allegiances lay, before they even helped define the kind of person you were.

Cool Nutz liked it like that.

"It's one of the things that bothered me through the course of Portland hiphop," he says. "When we first started doing POH-hop, there was no segregation between the street gangsta element and the battle rappers and the backpackers and groups of that nature. There was never a separation. But hiphop has evolved, and now people choose their allegiances. [While hiphop] is really diverse, normally a show [consists of] a certain kind of artist; three groups all doing the same thing. I think the separation diluted the scene. Now you have people arguing whether 'this is real hiphop; people will say, 'oh, he said that he's from Compton or something, so I don't like it.'"

At first, POH-Hops were established to galvanize the Portland scene, to bring groups together and establish the idea that Portland, while not as nationally renowned as places like Oakland or LA, has a viable and vibrant hiphop scene. The first few POH-Hops were held at the now-defunct venue La Luna, and drew as many as 800 people, according to Cool Nutz. When La Luna tanked, however, the festivals became more difficult to stage. For POH-Hops Four through Seven, Cool Nutz says, "We included acts like Spearhead and Michael Franti, Luniz, Mac Dre, and Ras Kass and featured them as headlining--but we had to move the nights to Berbati's and the Roseland. And with the POH-hop being a locally featured event, it's kinda hard when you have a room the size of the Roseland, and the expenses are so high. That's one of the reasons I had to downsize it this year--so we could keep it local and keep the costs down."

Cool Nutz and his co-presenter, local musician/activist David Parks, opted to skip putting on POH-Hop last year, for reasons he attributes to a certain stagnation in the local scene. Despite the increasing visibility of the Lifesavas, and the overwhelming popularity of out-of-town performers like Aesop Rock and Atmosphere, it concerned Scott that other local acts had the talent, but weren't getting the exposure. With POH-Hop 8, Scott hopes to increase awareness and spark interest in groups that may not even play shows very often, especially on a festival scale. "I feel like in the city, there's not much interest in local hiphop except for a few entities. Portland hiphop is moving forward, but you only have a couple of groups establishing growth in the scene outside of Portland. So to be the catalyst for growth, we have to step up to bat and be responsible for that."

- The Portland Mercury

Septembers Featured Artist of the month is Cool Nutz, a true pioneer of the Portland music scene. His career is going on 20 years strong, raise your hand if you can say that. He speaks on Portland's media, Poh Hop, the origin of "I Hate Cool Nutz", what's been up the last couple years, hell even the Boy-scouts. Take a Ride with the one and only.


BELLY) Let's start with some Bio of Jus Family and where you're coming from.
COOL NUTZ) Basically I'm from NE Portland, grew up in Hip Hop. B-Boying. Me and Bosko started breakdancing and had a little crew, breakin in the lunchroom at school and that kind of stuff and as Hip Hop kind of evolved, Bosko started taking on the music side of things djing, he got a couple keyboards and started making beats and we had a rap crew. I was kind of the youngest so they were always kind of like, "Ehhhh You can't rap". When the older dudes started doing different stuff, they kind of fell to the side. Me and Bosko were already good friends so I just stepped up to the plate so we came together on the music and started doing shows back in like 85 or 86. Stuff people probably wouldn't even know about like up on 17th and Alberta at the Exodus. Us, Lifesavas, Jumbo but Jumbo was in another group, Marlin was always around, the Brown Hornet and all them cats. We just started from the ground up and as we started doing more and more stuff we decided we were gonna be serious about it so we put together a demo. I was in high school it was around 87-88 started letting people hear the demo and people kind of started liking it. Bosko went to USC on an academic scholarship and I was still here in Portland so I'd go down there to record and put songs together and we put together the first Cool Nutz album "Dis Niggas Nutz". That's on some more sample heavy, really twards that era of Naughty by Nature. Kind of like Naughty by Nature with a West Coast twist. So we put out 500 of those, sold them and had good response from it so we came back with a single, "Player Vision and "No Toes". The song "No Toes" was a tribute to my brother who passed away in 93, he got killed. We pressed those on cassette singles and did close to 1200 of those off straight consignment in the stores. Bosko got a deal with Big Beat/Atlantic, then I got a deal with Big Beat/Atlantic so I put out Kenny Mack and G-Ism "Nuttin but the Family" kind of like a group effort. Sold a good amount of those but the deal didn't work out so I figured I was putting out releases independently so I put out "Harsh Game". I thought it would do pretty good but it was like Pop! Bam! and it kind of amazed me the way it caught on. I think at that period of time, people weren't putting together albums of that quality at that level of production, everything from the artwork to everything. Alot of people played a big role in that from Pete Miser to Jumbo, Vursatyl, G-Ism, Bosko and alot more. That album was kind of like Portlands version of "The Chronic" to me in the scence that it was all these elements that came together that made this album classic material. So that really put Jus Family and Cool Nutz on the map and made people take notice that there are people in Portland being serious about it. So that's where the real Jus Family, the actual label vehicle, bringing in money and it being lucrative and supporting what we're trying to do came about.


BELLY) So what's your EARLIEST memory of Hip Hop culture?
COOL NUTZ) One of the things that sticks out to me most, that inspired me from an MCs standpoint. I was walking home from Summer Daycamp on Alberta and Mallory and this cat had a radio in his window and I heard Rock Box. What it was so different about it it wasn't like "The chicken it tastes like woooood", it was Hip Hop with an edge, it was serious. Some different rhyming and I was like "ooohhh, that's mean right there". It made me want to search out that song and I saw there was a different side of Hip Hop. I heard Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, Busy Bee and it was really playful, I heard Rock Box and it was Hip Hop that was serious. From there I started hearing KRS One, people like Schooly D and Ice T, Eazy E, those are the things that kind of brought about my love for Hip Hop and MCing.


BELLY) What are some of the major differences at Jus Family from the very beginning and now?
COOL NUTZ) The climate trying to sell music, music being downloaded, cats wanting to download your music rather than buying from you not realizing that's how you support the music and being able to make music to give them. Another thing is the seperation in Hip Hop. When I first started doing Hip Hop in Portland in terms of the Poh Hop and things of that nature, there was no seperation, if it was gangsta, if it was backpack, if it was concious, if it was street it didn't matter as long as it was good. Back in the day if you had a Big Daddy Kane album you had an Ice-T album, if you had a Kool Moe Dee album you had an NWA album. It was never like, "That's not Hip Hop!", as long as it was good, it didn't matter. I think that has kind of effected Hip Hop cause you have Hip Hop that goes 2 different directions. Let's say you have a Scarub show at Berbatis and a Spice One show at the Roseland and you'll have two different audiences. When we started doing Poh Hop at La Luna it would be a completely mixed audience and people were there just to see and hear good music. And I think that's one of the biggest thing that's effected Hip Hop not only in Portland but in a whole. Imagine if everyone supported 50 Cent or Atmosphere or Living Legends or E-40 as apposed to I'm gonna support him and this is the genre of music I ride with and if it's not like this, I'm not supporting it. It cuts into everything and I love Hip Hop music as a whole and a culture cause I grew up in it from when it started. I can appreciate everything about it cause I see where it came from and where it went to and cats getting all this money. Even from an independent backpack level a lot of cats are making real money. Atmosphere is selling out the Crystal Ballroom, Blackalicious is selling out the Roseland. It's crazy how lucrative it could be and it could be even more if there wasn't that seperation of "This isn't real Hip Hop", "This is Hip Hop". It is what it is.


BELLY) Where'd you get you're name from?
COOL NUTZ) Alot of people think it means my nuts are cool, but really it means Cool but Crazy at the same time. I'm glad people think that though beacause it catches peoples attention, as soon as they hear Cool Nutz it sticks in peoples head. Most of the time people just assume, "Oh are your nuts really cool?" they don't think it could mean something else but it's doesn't. I'm not Busta Rhymes or a smooth layed back chillin pimp rapper I'm kind of in between, Cool Nutz kind of cool and crazy at the same time. Even the stuff that I do, it's not geared to be sexually explicit like on "Verbal Porn", Verbal Porn didn't mean it was going to be like a Too Short album, it meant it was going to be verbally raw. The album is raw, the porn skits were put on to tie the concept together but if you listen to the album, it's really MCing.


BELLY) How is your time divided between the music and business at Jus Family?
COOL NUTZ) RIght now it's waay more business than music cause things are at the point right now where if the business doesn't get handled there's not going to be anything to facilitate the music happening. With the growth of anything, more time gets put into the administrative side of things to make sure we're touring, there's press and publicity, retail, marketing and things of that nature. Right now I'd say it's probably 70/30, I'd definately like it to be more music going on but with me running the company it's hard to accommodate that and I'm naturally a hands on type person that doesn't feel comfortable handing things over to people, I know what needs to be done it's routine, it's hard to educate someone and say this is what you need to do here and there.


BELLY) Do you have any achievements outside of Hip Hop to speak of cause I heard from a good source you we're pretty big in the Boy Scouts?
COOL NUTZ) Oh yeah, all through high school. I think that helped kind of define me as a person in terms of experiencing some things most people don't get to like hiking 12 miles through the woods with a fully loaded backpack and camping for a week, snowcamping and being in the woods and being in touch with things you normally wouldn't be in touch with. I was in Boy Scouts with DJ Zig Zag and Bosko too..


BELLY) And Void,
COOL NUTZ) And Void


BELLY) Hip Hop Boy Scouts
COOL NUTZ) We were kind of the cooler Boy Scouts, kind of like a bad news bears type thing, it wasn't the square Boy Scouts. We were the cooler Boy Scouts. Even now though, from Boy Scouts, Summer Camp, alot of that stuff I teach my daughter. It was educational till I was done with it my last year in high school.


BELLY) Why don't you let people know about what you've been going through the last few years with Jus Family, as much as you can.
COOL NUTZ) I feel the last three or four years have been a real learning experience in terms of the record business. We did a deal with Universal and learned a lot from that from a major label perspective. Got a lot of money from the deal, got a lot of press and promotion from the deal, things that benefit me to this point, being in the Source and stuff like that. Eventually that didn't work out due to the way the industry works. We needed our single to be added at Power 106 in LA for Universal to really push the button. We had the add and the label came in after that and told them to take the Juvenile record "Set it Off". After we didn't get the add at Power we were kind of done cause we were the new guys on the block and didn't have the dedication and loyalty of the label. After I got out of that, I put out Verbal Porn, I went through a situation with my distributor and had to get a lawyer to go handle that. I reallyset my mind of working as hard as I can to sell Cool Nutz to as many people as possible in as many places and do the things I feel like I needed to do to establish myself on an independent level. We stayed on the road, dealt with the distribution situation and we're at this point with the catalog back in stores, "Harsh Game" G-Ism and "Speakin upon a million" back in stores. Releasing all that with "Collabos" which is a project to bring people up to speed with what we've done plus letting people know there are people from Portland working with bigger artists. We're re-establishing ourselves with the public cause when you're not on the shelves it's out of site, out of mind, we weren't out of mind cause we were doing big shows with Westside Connection, some shows with 95.5, being as visible as possible but being selective so we don't over do it with people. We've just been getting people ready for the real, the real fire we got coming. We got some hot records coming. So basically the last 3 years it's been a re-invention of Cool Nutz and Jus Family even in the industry things have changed but we're ready for them.


EDADDY) The Power 106 thing, was that when you moved to California?
COOL NUTZ) One of the reasons I moved to LA, I've been around here doing music for a long time and I feel like I've given alot to the Portland Hip Hop scene and helped it actually even be worth anything, you know what I'm sayin? Contributed to alot of peoples gowth, but at the same time, because of the kind of music and what alot of the people just percieve what I do, alot of the people within the press, probably don't even listen to my records they just naturally assume that....


EDADDY) I noticed that in looking up some info on you we were asking ourselves if they even listened to it or what.
COOL NUTZ) Alot of the reviews are from the standpoint of they had to write about me cause they knew it was newsworth cause I was selling records, and doing shows and doing a lot of stuff for the Hip Hop scene but from the standpoint of appreciation for the actual music, I never got that from the press. With the success of Harsh Game and how big a record that was, it was frustrating to have them completely overlook the growth from Harsh Game to Speaking Upon a Million, the production, the song ideas, the evolution in the rhyming. To have them overlook that, it was kind of insulting and made me wonder if there was anything else for me to do here in the Portland. I've contributed to the scene, not just the Hip Hop scene but overall the Portland music scene. To never get the appreciation musically, you can work hard and have somebody say "You got your picture in the WIllamette Week or you're on the cover of the Rocket." but that doesn't mean much if you know you sit for hours to write a dope rhyme or write songs that you know are hot and the people who are in control of exposing it to the people who validate it are on some bullshit. Like the Collabos album from Willamette Week, they get the most ignorant motherfucker they could find, dude did his first review, he didn't even know that I rhymed. Didn't know W.C, Kurrupt, Mac Dre, Yukmouth none of em. He e-mailed me and asked which voice I was on the album and if I emceed and what exactly does Cool Nutz do at Jus Family? That in itself is insulting to what I'm doing cause within the Portland music scene you got the Pink Martinis, Smooch Knobs, The Decemberists, Everclears, The Lifesavas, Cool Nutz and a few other noteworthy people who you can go out and say have you heard of such and such and people are like oh yeah... There are only maybe like 15 of them total in Portland and that's across numerous genres. Old school bands like Heat Miser, Pond, Dandy Warhols. I gave all the press in Portland 2 months lead on the record, the album, press clippings, source clippings, Murder Dog magazine, me on the cover of WW, reviews from big websites of things that we'd done. When we did the Collabos album release party we got snubbed in the press, a bad review from WIllamette Week. It was evident that if I wasn't making this certain kind of music it's not gonna get love. That's one of the main reasons I moved to LA after "Speakin Upon a Million", the same shit. I don't do this from the standpoint of me doing it for myself. When I put out Western Conference All Stars. I put that out for the sake of Portland HIp Hop. I paid for the whole project, recorded most of it in my studio, paid for everything, didn't ask for anything from any of the artists, put it out and pushed it to establish that this is Portland Hip Hop. You got Emerge Emcees, you got Libretto, you got Maniac, you got AL C, you got all these artists from Portland. Like I said before and it wasn't a seperation, it was a melting pot and a double CD of hot music to let people know not only am I an artist but I'm also working for the betterment of the whole Portland Hip Hop community. People didn't realize Poh Hop 3, maybe Poh Hop 4. I'm the one risking $13,000 with the Roseland and Berbatis bringing the Luniz and Spearhead and that kind of stuff. To come out at the end of the show and there's a profit of $100 but everyone had a good time and alot of people don't take that into consideration.


BELLY) Shows that have the vibe of the early Poh Hop shows are few and far between now a days. Did you go to the MYG release party? I think that's the closest thing I've seen in a bit.
COOL NUTZ) Nah I was out of town but I heard it was packed. We did a Zac Randolph party and Bosko "Next Files" listening party and it was like boom. A few performances and just a party, it was dope. That's where I want to see Portland Hip Hop go. Like I said, you get excitement out of Lifesavas, you get excitement out of some of the things we do and a few other acts. When we started doing Poh Hop it was the whole Portland Hip Hop scene and as soon as you saw a poster go up for Poh Hop it was like everyone in town was like "Poh Hop's coming, Poh Hops coming". That's where I'd like Portland Hip Hop to go. Even the little remarks they make about Wickeds mixtape. I met Wicked when he first started Djing, we went to PCC together. Knew him when he got his first mixer, we kicked it tough. He's a real good friend of mine. To see him trying to do something different that no one else is doing, putting his money into it, getting ads and actually pushing it. And having people talk about "oh another 70s du du du" All that funny shit.


BELLY) Seems like there's a lot of rock journalists around here.
EDADDY) That's kind of one of the things we saw when we started that there's a big void in Hip Hop coverage in the media.
COOL NUTZ) I think your site is a much needed thing in Portland because you actually have a forum where people can see all this stuff in Hip Hop that's happening in Portland, you're going to shows, you're writing reviews of the show, taking pictures, you're actually in the mix of it. If I had the time to do it I would cause I feel like people need to know that it's not just about "There's the gangsta rap scene in Portland, There's the underground scene in Portland, they need to know there is a Hip Hop scene in Portland" but it is what it is.


BELLY) Do you have any un-released collabos that might suprise people?
COOL NUTZ) Yeah, I've got a hot record with Sticky Fingaz from Onyx, Rass Kass, a number of records with E-40, oh I got a hot track with me and Karim from Boom Bap Project and DJ Friction, One man Armys DJ. We were on tour, it was me, Oldominion and One Man Army and did a song that's just crazy. There's alot of stuff we haven't put out yet. I feel like right now, even with all the records I've put out, I'm just now at a point where I'm comfortable with what I'm doing as an Emcee. We got "I Hate Cool Nutz" that's coming out, I got another record, "Gorilla in the Trunk" we're putting out.


BELLY) Is that like a trunk monkee?
COOL NUTZ) It's like a saying, like the speakers beat so much it sounds like you got a gorilla in the trunk trying to get out. I feel like now I'm at a point where people hear the new stuff we're really trying to compete with the big boys.


BELLY) I got the question from hearing you on Smokes tour CD.
COOL NUTZ) Ohhh, did he put that song on there with me? Yeah I did a song with him, I did a new song with Sirens Echo, I did a song with Boom Bap that didn't make the album cause they thought it would be a little offensive. It's about all the hippy rappers, so called "Concious" rappers basically but when it came down to the final cut it was like, "I don't know, people might take offense to that".


EDADDY) I was reading somewhere that I hate Cool Nutz started when someone put up posters all over Portland...
COOL NUTZ) Really what happenned, Pete Miser came up with that. Me and Pete were always doing music business. Pete did all the artwork for "Harsh Game", late nights in Kinkos, this was before all the people had all the graphics stuff at home. He came up with the I hate Cool Nutz campaign where I go out of town and someone puts up the posters. It was funny cause I had one of my boys call me up and he was in the streets like "Man, I just saw this dude putting up these I Hate Cool Nutz posters man, whachu want me to get him or what? He's out here right now, down the street two blocks I'm just calling you to make sure it's cool." I had to tell him he was with me and it made the newspaper and people were talking about it.


BELLY) When was that?
COOL NUTZ) 97-98, the thing was when we did it I was out of town so people would say I was doing it. They'd call and I'd be like I'm out of town in LA I don't know what's going on. That was the early days of Portland Hip Hop. It was one of the things that made it exciting. I don't know if you came to the last days of La Luna concert. It was on a Thursday, it was Me, all of Jus Family, Lifesavas, Hungry Mob and I think one other group. 700 people, I have footage of it I'm gonna include on the Jus Family DVD with the "I Hate Cool Nutz" album. The energy was just crazy for the local groups. Another one was the first or second Poh Hop where we had a picnic on stage. We brought the table, the cooler, giving everyone in the crowd soda and chicken. A picture of it is on the inside of "Harsh Game", back then it was a whole different thing. It's a trip now cause you're fighting an uphill battle cause everything is controlled by certain types of writers. I hate to have to go to them and be like, "Cool Nutz is a significant artist in the Portland music scene" you only have a few artists in the music scene that people are going to look back and say he played a big part of what was going on in Portland.


EDADDY) You made it in the EMP.
COOL NUTZ) When they first built it one of my boys went up there and told me "You in there with Mix-a-lot!!" I finally made it up and saw it and that in itself just to be recognized. There's only Mix-a-lot, Me, and a couple other Seattle rappers in there. I ain't mad at em.


BELLY) Why don't you talk about I Hate Cool Nutz"
COOL NUTZ) I'm trying to put together a phenominal album. One of the albums that really kind of changed my thoughts on Hip Hop was the first Blueprint from Jay-Z. To be that far in his career and come back with an album to change the sound. The whole landscape of the music he was doing. He made everybody start sampling again and go back into these soul vaults and he came out of no where with it. That record made me feel like people can still put out really creative records. And thats basically where I'm going with the Cool Nutz record cause over the last 3 or 4 years, I've seen alot of stuff man. My best friend got killed last year, my cousin got killed. Having to hold my best friends son over his casket. As a person from 3 years ago, I'm a whole other person. When you hear the I hate Cool Nutz album, you'll hear that. I've always been more of an MC rhyming about MCing and being in the streets and stuff like that. I hate Cool Nuts is the same feel but it's more introspective and personal. People will get a better feel of me as a person. I feel like, that's what it's gonna take to get the credit I deserve from the press here and in this region because their eye is on a different kind of music. I manage Sirens Echo and that's the direction the Portland press is interested in. Real concious music that they look at as being unique, being as our stuff is so urban, I think it almost makes them feel uncomfortable to listen to it. It's hard for a 27 year old white college cat to listen to a record and we're saying nigga and on Alberta and beats was bumpin. They don't understand that this is what's going on in NE Portland, this is where I'm from. I don't even talk about a lot of the stuff in the press we've been through like being out of town and seeing a cat get shot right in front of you cause I'm not trying to sell records from being a gangsta. Listen to the record and you'll see I can rhyme, that I'm thinking about what I'm sayin, every song ain't about bitches and hos. All I want is that respect, that's it and I feel like with I Hate Cool Nutz record that's what I'm trying to get. Typical example, I did a story for the Stranger and made it a point to articulate the fact that I listen to a lot of different Hip Hop. I told him about some of the stuff I listen to like Roots Manuva and Aesop Rock, he's one of my favorite emcees. They edited all of that out to mold me to what they feel like I should be. I don't want to be confined to some west coast bay area gangsta rap genre cause that's not what we do. That's why we call it hood hip hop cause we from the hood, but first and foremost we want to make good songs where the rhymin is thorough and every song isn't just "Jumped in my car, head to the bar, I'm a rap star and I'm gonna get far!" there's cadence in my rhymes, the rhyme patterns and there's creativity in the wording. That's what I'm trying to convey with the I Hate Cool Nutz album and everything that's coming from this point on, people are gonna see. Give us our respect, and I don't want to have to beg for it. I just want to put out good music, have people hear it and say that's hot.


BELLY) Is that the next release?
COOL NUTZ) Nah the Gorilla in the trunk will be the next.


BELLY) (Laughing) When's Goon Sqwad coming out?
COOL NUTZ) Goon Sqwad and "That Fire" will be out in February. I feel like alot of the die hard Cool Nutz fans are waiting for a brand new Cool Nutz solo project so I'm putting out "Gorilla in the Trunk" in November for the holidays to give the people something new and to give them a preview of the next phase of Jus Family. The only cats on there will be me, Maniac, Bosko will be singing on the hooks, Phranchise and Bleek will probably be on one track.


BELLY) Do you have any views or advice for the Portland Hip Hop community?
COOL NUTZ) Man, stop thinking cause you got a computer you have a record label. Everybody and their mother raps now, everybody has a CD, everybody has some outlook on Hip Hop. I feel like all these cats coming to the game if you don't have what it takes and you're not ready to put out a record sit back and let the real rappers do it. Let the Oldomininons, the Cool Nutzs and Librettos, Boom Bap Projects, and Sirens Echo forge the way. Then once you've perfected what you're doing follow suit. Otherwise I don't wan't anymore CD-Rs, I don't wan't cats calling me asking what I think and when you give them an honest opinion you're a hater. People feels like you can help them if they have a cd. We get on the road and put it in, I keep most of the stuff but if Maniacs in the car he'll throw it out the window. It's insulting for everyone to be thinking their rappers or producers or they have a label. It just crowds it for all the people. Sleep from Oldominion shoudn't have to be at a show with 40% of the crowd standing there with their arms crossed like "I'm an emcee too!" I'm tired of that man, it's old. Let the real rappers do it first. Respect them, support them cause till people embrace cats from out here and push em instead of thinking "I'm not gonna support Lifesavas cause they're taking my chance to shine" or "Why is this cat opening for whoever". We need that Snoop Dogg from Portland or that Nelly from Portland or that Rass Kass from Portland. Cats are so ignorant they don't know. We're around here selling a few thousand CDs. Nelly sold 130,000 right here in Portlands market. We should be doing 10% of that.


BELLY) Anything you say about this years Poh Hop.
COOL NUTZ) Oh yeah, Poh Hop's gonna be bigger better larger this year. We're putting a political subject matter to it with the election coming up with Poh Hop being the end of October and the election the beginning of November. We're working with the bus project to get people to register and educate people. We're doing panels this year at Ash St and Berbatis. We're having a booking panel with some of the bigger promoters. Ron with Direct, Trevor with Thrasher, Mike Quinn from Monqui, David with Double Tee, Anthony at Ash St. a panel with how politics relates to Hip Hop, a panel on how to build a project from the ground up from recording, mixing, mastering, artwork, booking, promotion, press, distribution. I want to make it where it's really informative and so people can get info from people they respect. Like if you come out and don't know David Lychin is the brain and the brawn of the Roseland when you see him and he's booked Xzibit, E-40, Too Short, the coliseum and such. I hope that sparks some of the younger cats interests.


BELLY) Are those gonna be all ages?
COOL NUTZ) I'm trying to work that out with the clubs where we can do it from 5 to 8 and they won't be serving liquor and possibly get all age cats in there for the people who need that information. I want to make Poh Hop more informative this year to have a bigger and better cause to it. Last year we did the women in Hip Hop so this year we had to come with another element that will make it even more newsworth. We got Opio Sakoni from 1480 KBMS, he's gonna help with alot of the political stuff. I got Marc Baumgarten from the WIllamette Week, trying to get Marty from the Oregonian to speak. Just a number of high power people that can give people some info that will be worthwhile.


BELLY) Or you could just bring back the soda and chicken.
COOL NUTZ) We might do that this year, we tryin to take it back to all that man.


BELLY) Alright real quick, what would you like your legacy to be in the end of it all.
EDADDY) Real Quick though.
COOL NUTZ) Realisticaly, I just want people to respect me for what I've done musically, the albums we put out and what we tried to do within the Portland music scene and helping establish a Hip Hop scene that's really it. I just want to be respected and when we stop doing music or fade away or whatever, people will remember something.


EDADDY) You kind of got it with that museum spot.
BELLY)Alright, do you have any shout outs?
COOL NUTZ) Just everyone who's helped Jus Family be successful. The artists Maniac Lok, Bosko, G-Ism, DJ Chill, DJ Wicked, all the clubs and publications that supported what we're doing and all the fans.


Cool Nutz presents "Collabos" is available here and fine retail establishments all over the country. Be on the lookout for his new release on Jus Family Records "Gorilla in the Trunk" coming in November. For more information hit up jusfamilyrecords.com.

VURSATYL GIVES COOL NUTZ HIS PROPS ON KPSU
- SuperHappyWax.com