Kottonmouth Kings - Hartford New Times Feature
Kottonmouth Kings drop ‘Green Album”
10th studio CD marks major milestone for hip-hop/punk rock act
By David Friedman
MUSIC WRITER
Updated: 11/20/2008 06:17:56 PM EST
“The big misconception is that we’re a weed band. We’re a freedom band.”
– Emcee Johnny Richter
Releasing their 10th studio album is a special occasion for southern California hip-hop and punk-rock hybrid the Kottonmouth Kings. Actually, releasing 10 studio albums and proudly watching as your audience grows over the years is quite a feat for any act.
So when I recently caught up with three of the Kings — rappers Johnny Richter and D-Loc and rapper-producer Brad “Daddy” X — needless to say they were all excited and had plenty to talk about when it came to “The Green Album,” which came out Oct. 28.
The well-traveled act will headline Nov. 29 at Webster Hall in New York City, with the trio joined by band mates DJ Bobby B, masked visual assassin Pakelika, drummer Lou Dog and stage director Taxman.
“We’ve been in it for years,” Johnny Richter said of the group, which released its first EP in 1998. “Obviously those who know us know about us and know what we’re about. They come to shows and they see the hard work and dedication that we put into this. We’ve dedicated our lives to this. A lot of other people and a lot of other acts, you don’t see that. They’re in it for another reason.
“At the end of the day, yeah, it’s nice to get paychecks, it’s nice to be able to feed your family, it’s nice to be able to travel the world and all that,” Richter added. “But at the end of the day, I don’t get a greater feeling than being able to put on a song that I made and listen to it. And that’s what I enjoy, playing my songs and making my songs. It’s amazing. It’s a great feeling.”
Unleashing “The Green Album” on their own Suburban Noize Records — which serves as home to 30-plus acts, including X-Clan, Sen Dog, (hed) p.e. and OPM — the Kings have added another 20 tracks to their catalog. And fans who pick up the CD at Best Buy receive a bonus disc containing 10 more new songs.
“When we went in to make ‘The Green Album,’ we wanted to first of all have a great time making it,” Daddy X said. “We didn’t want to put any boundaries on ourselves when we made the record. We went in and a lot of songs started with straight acoustic guitar, a lot of songs are classic hip-hop songs. We did a song with Tech N9ne called ‘Sex Toy.’
“We’re donating part of the proceeds to environmental causes,” Daddy X added. “So we just wanted to make a positive impact, make a bunch of songs about peace and freedom and just have a good time and enjoy life. There are a lot of mellow, melodic songs and there’s some straight bangers, a couple punk rock songs. It’s one of our favorite records we’ve ever made. It’s a pretty adventurous record when you hear the whole thing in its entirety.”
In terms of messages, D-Loc said, it’s all about being yourself, preserving nature and taking care of what’s around you. The Kings’ appreciation of the land started at a young age. The entire band grew up in southern California. The three emcees, in fact, all grew up in Orange County in the city of Placentia, an old farming community that’s situated near Disneyland.
“We grew up skateboarding and riding our BMX bikes and listening to punk rock,” D-Loc said. “That’s pretty much Orange County. It was punk rock and N.W.A. That’s how we grew up in the suburbs. We were skateboarding, riding our BMX bikes and playing basketball, listening to punk rock and N.W.A. at the same time. I grew up listening to a little bit of Agent Orange, Social Distortion was always big, Minor Threat was cool, Black Flag of course, and I listened to Humble Gods.”
Collectively, Richter, D-Loc and Daddy X count the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, N.W.A., Too $hort, X-Clan and Run-D.M.C. among their influences. Daddy X, who goes a little further back, got into funk acts like Parliament, Cameo and Zapp before progressing to hip-hop.
After spending years touring and recording with punk bands that included Doggy Style and Humble Gods, Daddy X formed Kottonmouth Kings in the mid-’90s. With the exception of rapper Saint Dog, who’s now back with Suburban Noize as a solo artist, the Kings’ lineup has remained intact all these years.
“You know what I think it is?” Daddy X said. “We all have a mutual respect for each other and everybody understands their roles and we all make a living doing this. We all kind of depend on each other. The chemistry flows pretty naturally and I think there is something magical when Kottonmouth Kings hit the stage. There’s a natural chemistry in our band that can only be explained as one of those things. It just works. It just seems to work.
“Most people don’t even have relationships for a couple years with one individual, let alone 11 or 12 with the whole organization,” D-Loc added. “Everybody has mutual respect for each other. Everybody respects everybody’s space. Everybody respects what everybody does. It’s a real honest business, up front. And if there’s a problem, we pound it out and we talk about it right there and we resolve it and move on.”
Over the years, the Kottonmouth Kings have shared the stage with Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Cypress Hill, No Doubt, the Offspring, Green Day and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But what they’re even prouder of, to this day, is being able to continuously pack venues across the country as headliners.
They’ve done this by creating memorable fan-favorite songs on every album. And some of these songs represent yet another facet of the Kings’ repertoire — stripped-down, melodic songs that stray away from straight-up punk and hip-hop to recall the work of Bob Marley and John Lennon.
“We could make hip-hop tracks all day long and keep doing that, but you’re gonna get the same record over and over and over again,” Richter said. “I notice that when we do (stuff) live, the hip-hop ones and the punk ones get the crowd going and excited and everything and get the people pumped up. But when we do ‘Can Anybody Hear Me’ or ‘Positive Vibes’ or ‘Rip The Night Away’ or ‘(Smoke Weed For) The Rest Of My Life,’ it seems like it actually touches the people more.
“They really feel that and they sing it with you,” Richter added. “They’re more vibing. And that’s been a thing with me for my classic rock influence of just stadium bangers, anthems. I was just going for anthems on this (new) one, (stuff) that’s timeless, that you can play for your kids too. You can drive to it and it just puts you in a whole different mind frame and zone. It gets rid of everything for you. That’s what I mean when I say the more melodic stuff. That stuff moves people.”
The show begins at 8 p.m. and is part of a “Wonders of Cannabis” event that runs from noon to 9 p.m. The venue is at 125 East 11th St. Tickets are $47.50. Call etix.com at (919) 653-0444.
