HIP HOP VETERAN | Al Skratch

Harlem, New York | Al Skratch

INTERVIEW TERRELL “REALIFE” BLACK PHOTOGRAPH BREGGA PHOTOGRAPHY

Hip Hop Veteran talks Billboard charting, working with the King of Pop, Skratchy App, The Basquiat Bros and new music.

I’m from an era where Hip Hop was more than just rap, we acknowledged each element of Hip Hop Culture- emceeing, deejaying, breakdancing, graffiti and knowledge of self. Unfortunately, it’s not so common now a days to find someone with that same respect for the culture. So, it’s always a dope conversation when a Hip Hop Veteran that holds Hip Hop to similar standards shares the moment they fell in love with Hip Hop and reflects on their accomplishments. Validated recently sat down with “big homie, real smooth brother”, Al Skratch and the Harlem Hip Hop legend discusses starting off as a DJ, Billboard charting, his Skratchy app, The Basquiat Bros, new music and more.

Validated: For those who weren’t privy to the era that you shined in, can you give us some background on yourself?

Al Skratch: I’m Al Skratch from Ill Al Skratch, the 90s, what some called the “Golden Era”. We dropped “Where My Homiez,” in 1994. And we had some good success with that, with the spins at radio, in the hood around the way. Then we dropped another joint called “I’ll Take Her,” with Brian McKnight, which was more of like a smooth joint, which crossed it over to the R&B scene for us and opened up lots of doors for the group.

So, happy that I did that with my partner, salute Big Ill. But Ill Al Skratch, that’s the name of the group. I’m one half of that, like we said before, but I started off as a DJ, that’s why my name is Al Skratch. But we can get into that as we go a little further.

Validated: So, to go back to the beginning, I believe you were born in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn and raised in Harlem, New York. But what’s your earliest memory of hip-hop culture?

Al Skratch: My earliest memory of hip-hop culture, I mean visually, is just seeing like graffiti writings on the wall with ink and spray cans like that. But as far as audio-wise, my earliest memory is being on Utica Avenue, waiting for the 44 bus, either going to or coming from school. And back then, you know, record shops actually played the physical record, the vinyl record itself. They usually had one or maybe two speakers outside the front of the shop.

And while we were waiting for the bus, we just kept hearing this song, “Rappers Delight.” Back then, once again, records wasn’t just two minutes or three minutes. This was a joint that was playing for a long, long while to the point where I was letting buses go by just to check out the whole song. Like, what is this really about? So, that’s my earliest and first recall of audio hip-hop.

Validated: I know graffiti played a role in your life early on…

Al Skratch: Yeah, that’s a fact. I mean, I was born in Brooklyn, then when I was like seven or something like that, we moved uptown. And when we moved uptown, you know, obviously, we were commuting on the subways and the buses. I would have to take the #1 train Uptown one stop to 168 Street, then hop on the A downtown towards Brooklyn/Far Rockaway, get off at Fulton Street Broadway Nassau then catch the J train and take that over the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn and get off at Flushing Avenue.

So, all throughout those travels on the walls, you will see writings in ink, black ink, white ink. Then you’ll see these magnificent pieces and throw-ups that were all colorful with spray cans and just from an artistic creative side, as a young man watching all these bright vivid colors that just opened up your mind to just being creative and just being free with your expression as far as, whether it was scribbling or later on when I got into actual using color.

Validated: Did you have a tag?

Al Skratch: Yup, my tag was “Al One,” because I was from 156. And if anybody knows about the 156 crew, we’re all famous, notoriously known. You know what I’m saying? Salute to my brother John 156. A lot of people, Just Da God 156. It’s an enormous crew right now, but that’s the block I’m from 156, bro, where every day, all day, I let that be known in my raps, but I was Al 156. And when they used to see the tag, they used to think it was ‘Alone’, which was, I was Al One. I used to always go right in the bombing by myself, except sometimes when I used to go to the yards with my brother, Poet and Tragic. And they, Uptown Washington Heights, I salute them. But Al One was my tag, either Al 156 or Al One.

Validated: Do you still see any of your tags?

Al Skratch: No, not from back then. That was way, way back. But somebody actually… we was just talking about screenshots. They actually screenshot, took a photo of a tag I had done in a bathroom somewhere and sent it to me. It was like, you know, I see you still out here. I see you still doing it. So, as an artist, as a hip-hop dude, even back in the 90s, when we traveled to different radio stations across the nation and everything, we always had a marker on us.

And obviously, we had those 8x11 or 11 1/2 photos, black and white. We always had to tag those up with sharpie. So, that was still always a part of the game. And I appreciate all the graph writers and just writers in general, throughout the world that helped graffiti expand so vastly and be globally accepted now.

Validated: You mentioned earlier, you actually started off as a DJ, but what was it that attracted you to the turntables initially?

Al Skratch: I think the way that the music was being played, because before you could actually get to see what was happening, you were hearing it. So, once again, just being a shorty, listening to these big ass speakers and the rhythms and the sounds and the scratches and just the breaks, you want to get closer to where it is, to the ropes or to the barricades and see like, oh, shit, how is that happening?

And then you see in the racks, they got the EQ system, the amplifiers, the echo chamber box, you see the different components that’s allowing all of these sounds that you’re hearing in the jam or in the park to happen and occur. And then as you see, it’s a delicate process to where a needle is dropped on the wax, fingers are licked, it’s precision, it’s just, it was a science to it that opened my mind like, damn, this shit is dope.

And not a control thing, but it was like the DJ was directing the party into a movement that he wanted it to go, kind of like a puppet master. That intrigued me in addition to the vibes that was happening in the music, the messages that was being said in the music with the words as well.

Validated: You mentioned earlier that you got your name from DJing.

Al Skratch: The rap group I was in prior to Ill Al Skratch, gave me my name, Party Posse. The Party Posse were Al, Ted and Rhythm Composer. Those are my Gs from down the block, 156 Riverside. Like Pac said in Juice, Riverside, they had a spot down there. Back in the days, if you ain’t have a DJ, you had a beatbox. In LRC, Law Rhythm Composer was the beatbox. And he rhymed, he was mad nice with the lyrics too. But my man DJ Law—bless up and respect DJ Law from 156, he had the equipment in the crib. So, we would go up there and he’d let us practice. And you know, just from how I kept up rhythm on time without letting it skip or fucking up, without trying to be all crazy showing my skills as a DJ, letting them get their routines off nicely, letting the MC shine. It was like, “Yo, you are Al? We just going to add scratch on it, because you are scratching right on time with precision. So, your name is Al Skratch.” And we live for that. Nothing fancy, nothing extra, no bells and whistles. Just keep that shit raw and that’s the name I kept throughout all the years.

Validated: So, how did you make the transition from… and I know you still DJ, but how did you make the transition into rapping?

Al Skratch: Well, that’s an easy thing. I mean, most people back then probably had a little rhyme book or composition book where they scribble some things down and I did that. I know how to play my position. So, my MCs was hot. They was going around battling people, taking them out, winning contests, getting the group moved up to the position of where we got a major record label deal.

But as time went on and things happened, the group dismantled or whatever, certain people went a certain way, this way, that way, I stepped up only because I felt as though I was really passionate about this music thing and I knew I had the confidence to go forth and to achieve the vision that I had in my mind. Whether it was with the group or by myself, just like today, I’m still pursuing things that I know inside my eternal soul is why I’m placed on this earth, to touch people with music. So, that’s how I transitioned into it—kind of like default, basically.

Validated: How did you and Big Ill end up linking?

Al Skratch: Me and Ill, linked up through my man, LG, the large guy from Lafayette Gardens in Brooklyn, the LG experience, salute LG. LG was working out of the studio I was in—Trackworks, soundtrack with Tony Prendat, that’s the other producer for “Where My Homiez.” But LG was working on a demo for Ill to try to get him a deal. And Ill had one of the songs he heard I did with one of the members from the group, Party Posse, my man, Tedd Love.

We did a joint called “Boom! This Is Your Vehicle,” and Ill told LG, “I like that dude’s voice. His voice is raw, bro. Let’s try to get him on. See if he could do a joint.” And LG was like, “Yo, Al, I want you to do it”. I was like, say less, bro. You know what it is. Back then it was like family, so we all in the same lab. I said, what you need me to do?

I and Ill went in, we did a joint for his demo called , “Creep Wit Me.” And that ultimately is what became the title of the Ill Al Skratch album, but that was the initial song me and Ill ever recorded. And we had another dude on there called Mike Real. So, it was three people on “Creep Wit Me.” But that’s how me and ill met and worked artistically for the first time.

Validated: As we’ve already mentioned, you’re one half of the Billboard charting rap duo, Ill Al Skratch. So, in 1994, you guys dropped the record “Where My Homiez” and shortly after that, “I’ll Take Her” featuring Bryan McKnight landed on the Billboard charts. And then following that you dropped the solo album “Creep Wit Me,” which also landed on the Billboard charts. You guys meet organically, then you dropped that first single and that put you guys on the map. And then you dropped the second single with Bryan McKnight and that blew you guys up. What was that transition like?

Al Skratch: That transition was fast, it was rapid. It was totally unexpected in regards to the acceptance coming from where we come from in the streets to be elevated into what they call Urban Radio, but Black Radio and be accepted in those older markets and more mature audiences. It was kind of like we had to grow real, real fast. And it was a great experience, man.

I mean, just being on Soul Train, going in these different arenas and auditoriums to where we were just over in the club where people could get shot, stabbed up, and then going to where people got on suits. It’s like there is a whole other world to this music industry that you just see on TV.

So, coming from being just the homies in the hood to like, yo, these guys that’s got this powerful, mature, masculine message out there, it was kind of overwhelming, but it was definitely eye-opening to see like, yo, wow, we got something that people really could sink their teeth into with a strong message and a powerful impact on the culture. It was definitely a humbling experience though, for real.

Validated: It’s obvious that you all made the right choice with the singles that you picked leading up to the album, but what made you guys choose “Where My Homiez,” as the first single?

Al Skratch: Well, to tell you the truth, “Where My Homiez,” was the only song after “Creep Wit Me,” that me and Ill did. Technically, “Where My Homiez,” the label liked the demo “Creep Wit Me.” But like I said, “Creep Wit Me,” the demo had three people on it. It was me, Ill and Mike Real. But the label was like, yo, we need a remix for this. And at the time it was like, you know, the partner I had mentioned earlier, a situation happened to where now that group was no longer together because that partner had something happen and I was basically left with a deal with a major label.

My partner Ill was looking for a deal. They liked how we sounded on the “Creep Wit Me” joint together. Since there was a slot open and the deal was on the table already existing… try a remix. And that remix is, “Where My Homiez.” So, basically it’s like, yo, somebody putting a bat in your hand like, yo, listen to me, it’s the bottom of the ninth. You know, this is the world series. We need y’all to go in there, what y’all going to do?

So, that’s why LG and Tony P., we’re going to be thankful for them forever and a day because they knew what was going on. They were listening to shit like Dr. Dre and they knew like, yo, sonically things are happening out here that’s changing. So, when we put that “Where My Homiez,” together, they knew they wanted to elevate and take that to another level, not just on no demo shit or remix to a demo. They were like, “We’re going to make this a song, like a real record.”

And I think that’s what it was. And with the help with the DJs who first played it, Mister Cee, Kid Capri, or BLS, I mean, back in the days, it was like three different radio stations that was playing real hip-hop music with some solid DJs on there. And if it wasn’t for them, if it wasn’t for Stretch Bobbito, a lot of people, The Awesome 2, you know, “Where My Homiez,” that joint wouldn’t have really got the light of day, in addition to my mixed tape, DJs like Chill Will, my man Doo Wop, it was really a village man that made that record get exposed the way it did.

So, it was like how you said, it was organic. It was the energy and the synergy at that time, which is what made that thing pop off.

Validated: So, whose idea was it to put Brian McKnight on the record and did you guys think the record was going to blow like it did?

Al Skratch: Oh, that’s a good question. I think after me and I’ll laid our vocals—because for those that don’t know, that record contains a sample from a raw record from EPMD called “Jane.” And “Looked up and down, said, hmm, I’ll take her,” we kind of flipped it in a way where what we were talking about was kind of unexpected.

So, once you’re listening back and you’re listening over and over, you may have the idea of like, yo, listen, there could be another component to this record that adds a different type of a vibe where it can put the record in a different place as opposed to just, you know, keeping it about rapping about a girl or whatever. So, I think the A&R Bruce Carbone pulled some strings and made that decision in regards to getting Brian McKnight on it, salute to Brian McKnight too. But Bruce, I think it’s the idea of the tone, the tone was open to it.

They got Brian in there, he flipped it and they instructed him on what we were looking for. And then once they put that mix on it, Mike Fawcett came up with those knobs, man, it was sounding like something that was like, “Okay, yo, yo, this it right here,” you know what I’m saying? But I don’t think we knew it was… I mean, me and Ill didn’t know it was going to be a hit. The producers, they knew what they were going for, because it takes a lot of intricacies to make a record to hit.

I think they knew we had a shot in that it was sonically sounding like it wasn’t, you know, just regular. But I think the video visually is what really enhanced that to go to another level, because it wasn’t just a regular on the corner rap video. It was kind of like a cinematic movie, we expressed what was being said in that song. So, hats off to my man, Brett Ratner, to actually directed that.

Validated: In 1997 you guys released the “Keep It Movin’” album but with the success of the first album what was the mindset and the game plan going into that second project?

Al Skratch: Looking back, I would say the mindset, I mean, honestly speaking, we didn’t really have a game plan, because we kind of knew what was happening with the label. Things wasn’t really the way it was the first time around. A lot of things business-wise, we felt wasn’t right or proper or could have been better. And as young artists, when you have that taste in your mouth or the vibe of it’s not happening and you know it could be done in a way where it could be more involvement, but it’s not, it’s kind of like being on a team and everybody is not on the same page.

But we went in, we went ahead and we did what we could do with LG, we got some people on it. So, we proud of what we recorded, but at the same time, I think a lot of labels actually was being consolidated at that time. I mean, what we got now, besides the independents, we only have like maybe three, four majors. So, a lot of consolidations are taking place. I mean, the homies was getting shot and killed, salute to Pac, BIG…

The game was changing. CDs came into play, the whole digital thing. A lot of things was happening at the same time, it was a big transition. A lot of people knew where the game was going, but then you had a lot of artists that was kind of like, “Yo, hold on, what’s happening?” It was just a lot of shit was happening at the same time.

Validated: So, you’ve got the Skratchy App, what can you tell us about that?

Al Skratch: Oh man, the Skratchy App is super dope, man. It’s the app created with my developer, Kev. And that’s basically an app for DJs to be heard, to be seen, to get booked and get paid. There are no commercials on there. The royalties are paid up, so you could play joints without being knocked down, like on Instagram. You could actually DJ and get booked from your crib and have the funds directly deposited into your account and it’s international. It’s a great app that I think once people catch on and most DJs realize the opportunity that they have, it’s a game changer.

And it’s something that I wish I could really be on way more than I am, but whenever I can, I get the opportunity, I go on and I do my thing. You can get up there and DJ for like four hours straight, which to me, sometimes four hours go by so quick. Because I have so much fun DJing, four hours is nothing. You know, four hours is really nothing, because there’s so much music out there, good music out there, that you could keep it going forever.

Sometimes they do these festivals with DJs thats DJing for 10, 12 hours. There’s certain demographics of music where they could do that, obviously. But you know, when your heart is in it, there’s so many dope songs out there, from today and classic joints, there’s more than enough time to DJ. But that app is dope, Skratchy App, download that if you haven’t done it already.

Validated: The Basquiat Bros, which consists of you and the homie Carlos, of Classic Material. How did the idea come about and who’s your target audience?

Al Skratch: Me and Los was on the way back from, I think we was coming back from South Carolina and he was driving, he was talking about his playlist that he had in Apple Music. And he’s going through some joints, some real classic joints that a lot of people might not know about – I’m not going to name no names or the songs and everything because we play joints that people haven’t heard in a while. And that’s what the Basquiat Brothers is really about. We play music for people who are true lovers of music and all kinds of music.

But anyway, we were on our way back from South Carolina. And I’m like, “Yo, Los, man, this is dope. Yo, listen, like, you’re a DJ,” you know what I’m saying? He was like, “No, I never DJ, but I know the music”. I said, “Well, you know, I am a DJ.” And he didn’t know. He knew Ill Al Skratch. He knew my name was Al Skratch. He was like, “You are a DJ for real?” I was like, “Yeah, that’s how I started.”

So, then he was like, “Yo, maybe we should get together.” Because he know the tunes, I know the tunes too, but it’s more like to have somebody who know like, all right, boom, right here, we should drop this right here. That’s what we were talking about earlier, that synergy is there. So, organic, somebody on the same page with you where you ain’t even rehearsed or got to study. It’s more like just automatically happening.

We just wanted to touch on that. And when we did, I mean, we got some good feedback in regards to how we play music. So, our target audience right now, we do hip-hop, we play R&B, we do that house music. We do all that classic New York music that brought hip-hop to the forefront. We’ve done joints up in Vermont where we playing for backyard barbecue boys type music, because we play 80s too, we play whatever the vibe of the crowd is, but we love hip-hop. We hip-hop to the core and we going to rap, Basquiat Brothers in Brooklyn, Uptown, everywhere we go throughout the world.

Validated: Are y’all planning on doing a tour as the Basquiat Bros?

Al Skratch: Not at all. We’re going to do some spot dates though. We’re going to definitely travel around, but right now we're setting up shop in the boroughs. And we got like three events that we do monthly. But we’re about to get… I mean, I’m not going to speak on it too much, but we got another spot that we’re going to be opening up later on in the summer. So, we are just building the brand. And once we get to a point where we feel like we want to take it on the road, we definitely are going to do that.

Validated: “I love the old New York.” What’s the significance of that statement to you?

Al Skratch: It has many. But the first thing that comes to mind is just the essence of the city, and not being so controlled or monitored and just being free to be able to go and do what you want to do, how you want to do it. I think the old New York encompasses that true feeling of a melting pot. Because when they say melting pot, it’s like things are simmering down and kind of gelling together.

And that’s not to knock on what’s happening today because it’s pretty much still happening today, but there are some limitations and some restrictions in regards to what’s happening here in New York City specifically. So, like I was saying earlier, the old New York, I mean, there was a time where you went to a hip-hop party and within that hip-hop party, you would hear hip-hop, you would hear house, you would hear reggae.

Sometimes you would have a different floor for each type of music that’s being played and depending on how you feeling, you’ll go to the reggae room, then you might go to the house room, you might be in a freestyle room, you might then go down and be in the hip-hop room. But it was that feeling of just like, yo, whatever you feel like doing, just do it. I think nowadays what happened is, they separated a lot. So, now you got your house crowd that’s only going to be over there in house music.

You’re going to have your hip-hop raw heads, they’re going to be over there. You’re going to have native tongues is going to be over here and reggae is going to be over there.

Validated: And the music is connected.

Al Skratch: It’s all connected. We are all connected. That’s my slogan. That’s what I always say all the time. We all inspire each other. We all influence each other and we are all connected, but we do know that through division that’s how they conquer. They want that separation to happen, but music always brings us together. That’s the universal language. So, I love the old New Yorker, just saying like, I love going to a party where I can hear several different types of music and meet people that love that music and get that knowledge and share some experiences that I might not have gotten if it wasn’t for the DJ playing that type of music.

Just like right now, I like to play a lot of Afro beats. It’s smooth, it’s a different vibe, it’s cool. And a lot of times growing up as a child, a DJ is who introduced me to a song I’d never heard or never knew about. It still happens till today. I told a kid, that song, “Where My Homiez,” that’s from ‘94. He said, “Nah.” I said, “Bro, you go do your history, that’s from 1994.”

A lot of these guys don’t know where they actually getting that from or where it started at. I tell people all the time, I was influenced by the Cold Crush Brothers, Grandmaster Caz, because they used to harmonize in the parties. And that’s why I took it upon myself to get that melodic structure and throw that in there every now and then. But that’s what I’m saying, that’s how we all connected. So, as long as we stick to those roots, I think that anywhere around the world, when you do that, you are a part of New York City. That’s what the old New York is really about.

Validated: So, you mentioned in a recent interview that Large Professor makes beats, but he’s a producer. Can you elaborate on that?

Al Skratch: Yeah, because a lot of times dudes that just make beats would think that they’re a producer. But a producer involves and entails a lot of other aspects as far as when it comes to creating a composition. So, I might know how to sequence a machine or alter a sound or tweak this here and there. And that’s a part of the beat making. Back in the days, they called it the programmer, you were programming. But the producer is the one who’s able to extract something out of the artist and take them out of their comfort zone and push them to the point where they didn’t know they could do something and give them vision to something where they maybe not have seen themselves doing it that way.

So, when I made that example with Large Pro, we did a song called “Be Original.” And I had wrote some things to it. And then he gave his opinion on it and kind of like guided me or instructed me like, “Yo, try or consider… boom, boom, boom. You got this. You know what to do”. And then I went back to the drawing board, came back with something a little extra spicy. And the brother was like, “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

That’s one aspect of producing, just making sure that the artist is sounding their best on your beat. The beat is just 50% of it. What good is a dope beat when somebody on there is spitting whack shit? That’s not going to have impact. If I’m a producer, I’m going to speak my mind and tell you, “Yo, my G…,” I’m not going to say you are whack. I’m going to say, “Yo, let’s try it. We’re going to work this out, bro.” If I’m producing you, we’re going to have to work this out, because I don’t want you going out there sounding half ass.

I don’t care how much money you got that you want to pay me for the beat, that’s irrelevant. This is a body of work that we got to make sure is going to be impactful and that the people gonna readily receive as okay, they put their best foot forward on this one.

Validated: How did that collaboration come about?

Al Skratch: I think I was at CNN’s 20th Anniversary at BB Kings in the city and I was out there and I chopped it up with Pro, just me and homies from… Pro originally is from Harlem and he is at Queens, but it’s more like we never really linked up or worked together. And when you moving back in the days, it’s like you’re moving so fast, you never really get a chance to sit down and connect unless people put it together and then y’all link up, you know, because everybody just moving.

Even like today, everybody’s scheduling, they moving. But we got a chance to really talk after the show and exchange some math. And then he sent me a beat, you know what I mean? I think he sent me a couple of beats, but that particular one is the one that I was like, “Yeah, I’m going to work on this.” And it took some time, we didn’t jump right on it. You know, it wasn’t like, “Yo, next week, I’m going to send this back to you.” It took some time, because I really wanted to… this is the Large Professor, this is that dude, he cooking it up. So, I got to make sure I cook it up and come correct on this. This is the dude that brought us Nas. This is the dude that brought us a lot of things in the game. So, when I made the approach on it, I wanted to make sure it was right and exact. So, that’s how we linked up and did the “Be Original,” joint.

Validated: So, you’ve collaborated with so many legendary artists, but I’ve got to ask, what was it like working with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and how did that opportunity come about?

Al Skratch: Man, now you’re going crazy with it because, that was… you know where I’m from, Bed Stuy, so come on. King of Pop type phone call coming through… I banged it, I banged it like, nah, this is bullshit. Then they call back like, “Yo, listen, this is really like, come on, what’s up?” So, my man Charles Roane, salute Charles Roane. I think he from the DMV area too, he is a producer. And so he was like, “Yo, listen, man, what they doing is they got this song, he got, it’s kind of controversial, you know what I’m saying?”

It was like, “Yo, what you mean?” He was like, “Yo, we talking about, you know, it’s a political song,” because you know, we think, oh, everybody say, let’s party. So, when we got the call for that, I felt like, yo, this type of song, I would have rather get picked for this song than any other song that Michael ever did. Even though I love all his music, this one, like I was just saying, has an impact. It’s a powerful piece, a composition that’s going to move something. It’s going to shake something up.

So, anyway, working with that man was out of this world unbelievable. It was like, unconceivable to even think you get a phone call like, Mike want y’all to jump on this. To just stock the CDs downstairs in the basement till today, it’s like, I’m holding on to those, it’s like gold nuggets.

Validated: Were ya’ll in the studio with him?

Al Skratch: No, we weren’t in the studio with Mike at that time because remember during that time, that brother was… and Dick Gregory spoke on this too. It’s not a lot of people you could trust and I could only imagine, being in front of the limelight and then they try to crucify you. It’s like, yo, I’m with y’all, but it’s like, you know, the brother, it was a lot going on.

And we all know what happened with him, but it was kind of like, I guess the distance between himself and others was getting larger because it’s kind of like… I don’t know if it was paranoia, but I would be like, who do I trust? But “They Don’t Really Care About Us,” it’s such a true statement, man. It’s such a true statement because they really, really don’t care about you at the end of the day when you think about it.

Validated: And Mike made a few songs like that, but the crazy thing is those aren’t the ones that get the attention.

Al Skratch: No, they don’t. He made some very powerful and impactful songs. Like, the “We Are The World,” song is an incredible song. But when he’s talking that talk on, “They Don’t Really Care About Us,” that hits differently. I mean, even when he did “Leave Me Alone,” that hit, but that’s different. He was tuned in and he was all the way woke on that, all the way woke.

Validated: I noticed that you’ve been dropping new music here and there recently. But are you currently working on a new album? And if so, when can the fans expect it?

Al Skratch: It’s funny you said that. I was talking to Carlos on that earlier, we were talking about dropping something, maybe an EP this year. I told some people that I was working on my first solo album, and I’m going to have some specific producers on there that I know will make it one of those classics that I always felt like I wanted to give to the people out there. I really want to get it done this year.

But in the meantime, like you said, I’m dropping a couple of gems and jewels here and there. And just in speaking with Los today, we’re probably going to drop an EP. I don’t want to give the wrong date, but I’m seeing like around Labor Day time or maybe even around the August time. So, people can have a little snack that you want before I drop the official album.

Validated: Outside of that, what else do you have going on that we didn’t mention?

Al Skratch: That’s it really. Just the, you know, just the DJ thing, which is what I love to do. I got placed on a couple of things like the BMF thing with a song on there. So, the opportunities for me is still opening up, the doors is still wide open for me to get into a lane. And it’s just me moving in accordance to how the universe want me to move. I don’t look at any other artists to say I should be there or why I’m not there. I’m moving at my own pace gracefully and humbly. I’m still appreciating the fact that people want to hear what I have to say and deliver.

I take it like a grain of salt each day. Just even being on Validated, I appreciate you, bro. People get to hear my story. A lot of times artists not only from my era, but prior eras, they get buried. But their contribution to the music and Black Music or Black American Music, specifically, is covered up. So, this platform right here is allowing me to still exist even into the future when I’m no longer here. And like you said, that music is still here and they can hear my voice. And they are like, all right, this dude is 30 years into his craft and still putting forth music and still living out his dream and his passion and his vision. So, I appreciate that.

Validated: That’s what we do it for. Now, we’re to the point where you see this resurgence of that old school hip-hop feel—and I don’t even want to call it old school, but I’m from that era, like you from that era. So, with that feel coming back where people are actually taking pride in lyrical ability, how do you feel seeing cats actually caring about lyrics again?

Al Skratch: Man, it makes me feel good, because, like I said, the group that I was in years ago in the late 80s, it was really about lyrics. It was about battling and taking this other dude’s head off or this other group’s head off. And that’s how you excel. That’s how you accelerated and got to that next point of like, yo, check me out. You had to come with your lyrics. That was it, unless you were up there dancing and doing routines, which is dope.

Validated: What can the fans follow and support you in all your endeavors?

Al Skratch: You can go @AlSkratch on my Instagram, I’m on Facebook, I got a Twitter account. I got all the social media platforms, but you can check us out too, @Basquiat_Bros on Instagram. We be doing parties once again in New York City. So, we just infused with the culture. It’s not that we do hip-hop, we are hip-hop, and we just want to spread the word and the good gospel of music and impact lives, and inspire these kids to do better and be better and greater than we could ever imagine, because a lot of times when they put that carrot in front of their face and make them chase that money, they get sidetracked and distracted.

So, we want to make sure they stay focused. And we created a genre, an industry, really, that could actually provide a way for you to create legacy and become a multimillionaire entrepreneur. It’s all about what we said earlier, you got to connect and share. You got to give back. Everybody ain’t going to make it. But you know what? If you do one person at a time like that, each one, teach one, it spreads, it’s contagious.

Because I was a young boy in poverty the same way, listening to shit through the speakers going, “Damn,” having a vision, opening up my mind, even though I was surrounded by the ghetto and all of that, it took my mind to another place in time. I never thought I’d be in other continents with people holding up albums from 20-some-odd years ago, where they unopened and they never thought they would see me only on TV.

So, keep your heart in the game. Keep doing what you’re doing and know that if you’ve got the vision and the dream and the dedication, you can make anything happen in this place, be it anything.