The NORE Interview
NORE and Big Mato
Sunset Strip Hollywood, CA.
GAO- Welcome to the GOING ALL OUT show. We're uncensored, so you can curse.
NORE- Thanks for having me on the GOING ALL OUT show, we're goin' all the fuck out.
and I wanted to fuckin' curse. FUCK!!!
GAO- So how do you like LA?
NORE- I like LA, the sticky green and the bad traffic. I like the women out here, I like the money
out here. They've got Bennihanas out here. They closed the Fat Burger across the street
from Le Meridian, I'm a little heated about that. But LA is great, I'm happy to
have the opportunity to come here and break a record that's doing better on the west coast
than on the east coast. I live for this.
GAO- You started out as Capone and Noreaga. Now, you're solo? Are you still together?
NORE- Yeah, he's doing his solo album. I'm doing my solo album. We went our separate
ways for a second. He wanted to do his thing. I wanted to do this Spanish music, the
Raggaeton. I did five movies in that process, I was basically chillin. Its all love
and eventually we'll meet at the top.
GAO- You're recently signed to Roc-A-Fella. Is Capone also signed to them.
NORE- No, he's doing his own thing.
GAO- How do you feel, this is your third label?
NORE- Yeah, I'm gonna be like Snoop, and get a fuckin check everywhere?
Snoop was on a few labels. That's my nigga. But when you're in the business and you
love what you're doing. Its like, Fuck it. I actually want it to be clear I never left DEF-JAM.
I have a deal with Roc-A-Fella, but I never left DEF-JAM. My relationship was with Kev and
Lyor. When they left, I wanted to be with someone I knew and trusted.
GAO- Your new single "Oye Mi Canto" with you, NINA SKY.
NORE- and BIG MATO.
GAO- Right, so explain that single because here in LA, there's a big Latino market.
But there aren't alot of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, like the NY Latino market.
NORE- There's mostly Mexicans. If you really pay attention to "OYE MI CANTO".
The first version only said Boriqua, Morena, Dominicano, Colombiano.
I immediately knew that was a mistake, so I went back and put DADDY YANKEE
on it. And changed it to Boriqua, Morena, Cubano and Mexicano. That's because
in Miami there aren't so many Puerto Ricans, but their latin environment is also big.
There are Cubans. In LA and on the west coast the biggest group is Mexicans.
I'm not just representing Puerto Ricans, which I am. I'm half Puerto Rican and half
Black. To me, its not all about that, when you say black people its BLACK PEOPLE.
Just like when you say Latino, its everything. I'm not just representing Puerto Ricans,
I'm representing everything. Columbians, El Salvador, Dominicans, Cubans just everybody.
Its about time.
GAO- And how long did you know Big Mato?
NORE- I knew this guy since he was skinny.
Big Mato- HA HA HA! From Iraq.
NORE- We grew up in Lefrak City. (Queens NYC)
Section 2, that was the section that muthafuckas didn't wanna come to.
He was from the Panama building, I was from the U.S. building. We knew
each other since we were kids. I said, I wanted to do spanish music
and my man SBK said "I got artists", so he brought me these guys.
So I was like OH Shit, he was my man. I'm just proud to have a hit
record with people from the same place as me. And a muthafucka I know
and trust.
GAO- You both are representing Queens. So, what's the current state of
HIP-HOP in Queens? There are lots of Superstars from Queens.
A few years ago there was the Nas and Mobb Deep beef, there's also Ja-Rule
and 50 Cent. What's the current state of HIP-HOP in Queens?
NORE- Queens is the biggest bourough, first off. So a lot of people say
Queens HIP-HOP and label it, like we're all together. But Queens is a big ass
bourough. There are places in Queens, I've never been to and I lived there my whole life.
In Manhattan, I've been all over because its not big. But Queens is big,
and you get a couple of kids with money and expect them to get along. But they
didn't go to school together. They didn't go to 204, PS 13 or Hillside. So how do you
expect them to get along? People look at that and say "Well damn, they're all from
Queens, why don't they know each other"?
But in Brooklyn, all their schools are together because Brooklyn is another small
bourough. That's how it is, I just hope that we get it together. We're one of the
bouroughs that will never have a tour. You can see a Harlem Tour, a Brooklyn Tour,
even a Staten Island Tour, but not Queens. Unfortunately there will never be a Queens
Tour, because there are too many egos. You even have the founders of Queens HIP-HOP
like LL Cool J and Run-DMC, from Jamaica. We should respect them. But most
Queens artists don't even respect them. I respect them to the fullest.
We were trying to do a Queens Tour and muthafuckas didn't want LL to headline. It was
some crazy shit, so a Queens tour will never happen. Its just the egos. The egos are crazy.
GAO- But at the same time, the egos are what makes HIP-HOP great.
NORE- Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. Like with Jay-Z and Nas. If they were cool,
HIP-HOP would be boring. It was destined for them to have problems. Its fucked up
to say, but its great.
GAO- What artists do you listen to?
NORE- I'm listening to that Pitbull, Lil Wayne, Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee.
Please check out DADDY YANKEE, that's the straight up number one
RAGGAETON artist there is right now . He's a good dude.
GAO- Well, I gotta say this as producer and host of GOING ALL OUT, when
we debuted in LA, the very first video we played was BLOOD MONEY
by Capone and Noreaga, the uncensored version.
NORE- Wow, Wow, definately. GOING ALL FUCKIN OUT.
N.O.R.E.
Big Mato- Yeah Westside, Yeah.
-end
J.M. Thomas