Guest Star

Welcome to Dilated People's Guest Star Blog entries. Join us here on SOHH for an exclusive opportunity to preview 10 clips from our movie, "The Release Party." The feature film captures Dilated Peoples' epic journey through the music industry in all its glory and disappointments.

Over the course of the blog you will see clips featuring The Alchemist, B Real of Cypress Hill, Kanye West and more. "The Release Party" DVD Anthology and CD with 7 new and unreleased tracks is in stores July 31st!

Be the first to own it, get it here http://store.okayplayer.com.

The backbone of Hip Hop Culture is the DJ. The DJ sent the signal out and the Hip Hop Nation was born. Kool Herc sparked something phenomenal, and architects like Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Master Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore and others helped to develop and build the base that we all stand on today.

This is a true story......I really do still have that test pressing w/ that
girl's # on it!? It's my first memory of meeting Ev. But who woulda known
then that we'd be on this crazy journey together! - Babu

Until I hooked up w/ Ev & Rak, I really didn't see myself workin w/ mc's that much. The Scratch Pickles and the X-Men were really blazing a path for dj's w/out rappers, so meeting Ev & Rak actually rekindled my love for working w/mc's and being in a rap group. Intially starting out as a dj, before dj videos, i would listen to groups who had dope dj's......dj Scratch & EPMD, Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Low Profile & DJ Alladin. That's how i really learned to scratch, from listenin to groups who had ill dj's! - Babu

Dilated Peoples is a blue collar group. We have never been afraid to pick up the slack where need be or even just do it all ourselves. This has allowed us to stay in the game while others have had trouble maintaining, while also learning how the system really works on both sides. In the case of our first record deal, it just took some focus, bus fare, and the willingness to devote the necessary time to it to get us out of what many said was an iron clad situation. We had to sacrifice a lot as nothing is free, but we didn't take "NO" for an answer and we won in the long run. - Rakaa

The video shoots for "Worst Comes To Worst" are some of my fondest hip hop memories, just all the folks who were in the video showin love and co signing our group meant so much to us. It's pretty damn funny that Scarface thought Ev was Tony Toca! Ev is kind of a mysterious cat... he always gets confused for other people all the time! This was a great hip hop moment for me.- Babu

I never would have thought what we were doing at 15, being rap addicts addicts, posting up at the hip hop shop on melrose trying to spit a rap and get noticed, staying up late weekend nites to record future flavas and the wake up show, would one day lead to a career where we could make an impact on the rap game the way we did collectively.

There was so much inspiration from our surroundings in LA, we just be came an extention of that. We studied Cypress Hill. We studied Freestyle Fellowship, The Liks, etc. And now in 2007 there might be a young beatmaker or rapper studying us! So with this dvd, when they watch our journey, they can too get inspired, and that's our way of giving back and recycle the positive energy. - ALCHEMIST

Ron Laffitte was our A & R at capitol. I always liked Ron, he was pretty much the reason we went there to begin with. Capitol was pretty much a ghost town when we signed up there. I used to sneak on their roof and smoke weed and do other activities as well. All this was pre 911 when security was not really trippin on s#!t at all. I used to tell them I was different people all the time to test how easy it would be to get in. This day...I gave them our real group name and the dude knew nothing about it. Listen for the part where he says," Somebody is here to see somebody" LOLOL. That s#!t kills me.

Also when he calls us," Little People" maaaan!! The good Ol days. - Evidence

Dilated Peoples has always had affiliations with other crews doing their thing. From C2D to AWR and Graffiti crews worldwide, to Rock Steady Crew and Universal Zulu Nation, to our Likwit Crew Family, to our Word Of Mouth Crew (with Jurassic 5, Beat Junkies, Supernatural), to the Good Life/Project Blowed movement and many others. Still, along with our Likwit Crew Fam, the crew that embraced us the most from day one is the Soul Assassins. DJ Lethal from House Of Pain actually got us our first deal. Cypress Hill has also always looked out for Dilated and we will never forget it. B-Real showed a lot of love by blessing the song and the video. S.A. is Family forever. - Rakaa

Up until we made "This Way" I had only known about Kanye as a dope producer, not really an emcee. In fact, when I heard his verse on "The Bounce" off Blueprint 2, I actually didn't like his rhyme. Who would've known how much of an impression this guy would leave on me where he ended up influencing me both lyrically and production wise in a major way. I was cool with him right off the bat. I'm a strong personality and he is as well, so I kinda respected him from the jump. It was a real dope experience doing music with Him, John Legend, and Keyshia Cole (who originally sang on the end of "This Way") early on in their careers before the blow up.

..It just sucks none of them call me back anymore. (JOKE!!) - Evidence