Kalage (Field Mob) Interview
October 2002
MVRemix: Where did the name Field Mob emerge from?
Kalage: Ah, actually, we're from Albany, Georgia, two hours south of Atlanta. So we call it the "mini-me" of Atlanta. Real country, we're from actual slave land. Albany, Georgia had actual fields where slaves picked cotton. We adapted that name because that's where we're from. The "Mob" is me and my homeboy's. Also, anybody that's down with us...a mob always starts small. Some people have an idea or dream; "Whatever, whatever," but they're going with it. We started with just two and now have probably a couple hundred thousand fans. These times it's getting a little serious, our fan base is growing. The mob is getting bigger. People are understanding this time. So that's where we got the name from; "Field Mob," you know.
MVRemix: What about your individual emcee names, what are the meanings behind them?
Kalage:
Names? Boondox Blax and Kalage? Firstly, we go by several names. Let me do mines first. My homeboy's name is Smoke aka Boondox 
Blax aka Chevy Pendigrass aka Darth Brooks, the country king. Now these are all things that are a reflection of what's going on in his life right now. We ride Chevy, we ride Donk Chevy, down here a D O N K is a Donk Chevy. We ride ol' school classic Donk Chevy's. We put them big boy tires on, so he's got addicted to 'em. But that's how he got his name Chevy Pendigrass. 'Cause he's addicted to Chevy. He got the name Darth Brooks, because he black. I mean, I'm the skinny one, he's the black bald head. He's my dog. That's Darth Brooks, he the king of country. My name is Shawn J. Field boy Fleetwood Mack, aka Mean Gene The Pokin' Bean aka I'm just happy to be here. Because I'm just happy to be here, there, point blank dog, no matter what. I'm just glad to be here. Point blank. I'm just glad I woke up breathing today so. That's what it is. Kalage, from the Field Mob. That just means I paint pictures through words. You feel me? I paint a lot of different moods. You might see me smiling one day, talkin' about this and that. Then the next I'm talking about something totally different. It's just a regular person.
MVRemix: Why music? What made you choose to go with it and not another occupation/career?
Kalage: For me, well look where I'm from. There's nothing. There ain't nothin' down here. Ain't nothing, nobody doin' nothin' down here. I needed that expression, I wanted to be heard. My people just had that problem in life. They gotta know, they just want to be heard. The only way to get heard was through music. Put music down, people will listen to it. So...I learned how to do that. Then to have the opportunity to do this, I found this is where it's at.
MVRemix: So, what separates Field Mob from other Hip Hop artists? More specifically, other Southern Hip Hop artists?
Kalage: First. We came out starting this. We're trendsetters. We don't follow the trends, I mean I know it's cool to be country now. But lets be honest dog, my CD "Ashy To Classy" came out two years ago. When we came out everyone was talking about the "Bling, bling, bling, bling, bling." Which is cool, 'cause I love that. But, niggas was biting Cash Money then. I love Cash Money, they the originators. But niggas was biting them. So we came out and tried not to bite them. Talk about something else. Two years later, everybody is happy to say they're country, is happy to say they been po' all they life. I mean, it's cool. I was po' back then, I was tryin' to have me a big nine caddy back then. Two years later man, the mission has changed. I feel like I've become with people now biting our styles. What we was doing was right, so lets flip the script and do "Sick Of Being Lonely" because they ridin' our nuts on the other side, let's give them somethin' to ride. Lets do this. That way everyone eats, I ain't mad if they eat, I'm glad if they eat. Even if they eat off of us. I'm our style.
MVRemix: For those who don't have BET or MTV, and so have yet to see it, can you describe and tell me a little about the video for 'Sick Of Being Lonely'
Kalage: The video for "Sick Of Being Lonely," which is produced by Jazzy Pha and features Torica. Field Mob's lead single, produced by Jeremy Rawl. It's featuring John Witherspoon from "Friday." It's just two country boys, a dramatization of our life, for real...These two country boys pop up at this new club. We don't know the dress code, we've got on our style. We've got what we consider fly. We go in there, and we chillin', we partyin' - whatever, whatever. We dancin' up on these girls, but they ain't feelin' us at first. Then by the time they feel us, two girls come up at the end - our two chicks. They bust us. I guess what makes it different is because we took our own boy Pig Newton to the club. Now, Pig Newton is a real pig, we had to get him into the club...That's just how it is in real life, that's how I go to the club. I'm very different to everyone else, because I got my own shit down. I've got my own style, so...I'm far out there. But it's lookin' nice to me.
MVRemix: Speaking of the pig, explain the title of your album - 'From The Roota To That Toota.'
Kalage: "From The Roota To That Toota" is a southern expression, and if you know about the south, you listen...it's the pig nose to the pig booty. Everything in-between, it's A to Z, it's all the elements of people. It's all of it, you can't just have one without the other. Some people's CD's just be the Roota, they never get anywhere, just talk about cocaine their whole CD. Talk about chicks their whole CD, but we're gonna talk a little bit of everything. Give you some variety; we used the title of the album as a metaphor to explain it.
MVRemix: So, how long did it take to put the album together?
Kalage: Writing it, it don't never take us long. But as far as getting studio time, that's where the differences come. We did the last album in a week, we couldn't do this album in a week because we had other artists and had to work around their schedule. Plus, we slummin' it, we ain't rich, we po' po'. I ain't just gettin' these artists, I'm askin' how much they gonna charge first.
MVRemix: What are these cartoons affiliated with the album etc.?
Kalage: We just branchin' out. We've got a whole lot of ways to touch the world, the cartoon's man, ya'll need to check that out.
MVRemix: Are you now "Classy" or still somewhat "Ashy"?
Kalage: Me, am I still on "Ashy"? Hell yeah, I'm ashy now. I'm nappy, I'm natural. I don't bathe no more. If I don't bathe no more it means I don't put clothes on a lot mo'. You gotta bathe to put on new clothes. Even the po'est of the po' po' know that. "Ashy To Classy" was the first CD we put out, it was just to mean that we went from nothin' to a little bit of somethin'. Where we was at, that little bit of somethin' is the world. Where I'm from...it's a priority. Where you from you probably have nice houses and new Benz', but down here...an old Chevy on some new rims, that's the thang. That's it. That's the "Ashy To Classy" in which we spoke of. I mean we're ahead of a lot of cats man, the rap industry's a race. There's a lot of strong runners, but we the finish line so we always gonna be ahead of people.
MVRemix: Now, any people cite New York related rappers as some of the pioneers of Hip Hop, but...
Kalage: Many people cite New York rappers as the pioneers of Hip Hop?
MVRemix: Well they say that sort of thing, except we all know that there's more to it than that...
Kalage: I think that, Field Boys, my own partner in rhyme; Chevy Pendigrass - I'd put him against any New York pioneer. Where ever you're a pioneer. If he's an old rapper, we show more respect than a little bit. But, is Iverson gonna let Michael Jordan shine on him? No! Iverson's gonna take care of him. Iverson's gonna take him out. So, we're the Lakers, I'll put my boy against anybody. I don't even like answering that question because it's a waste of time. I listen to Smoke (Chevy Pendigrass) more than probably anybody, I listen. I listen to everything that's put around, if you're going to put something out. I'm listening. These are who y'all call the kings of the rap game, everybody's got different opinions. It's just I can't voice mine yet. But I ain't worried about it because it's gonna come, dog. These are the last days anyway. Everything that was on the bottom is about to go on the top. You can see it, it's happening slowly but surely. Look at golf, we never had golf, now we've got golf. We got a white Eminem. I consider him the top dog. Both me and Smoke say lyrically he's bangin' on these cats man, and he's a white person. They always make a big deal about that, but it's the last days man. They have to go and give him his props. I love the dude. I love the dude. I ain't know he was white until y'all told me.
MVRemix: Who do you think though, in the South, has made it more acceptable for Southern music to come forward? Do you think it's the Goodie Mob's or the Outkast's?
Kalage: Outkast let 'em know that we can be commercial. Eightball and MJG let 'em know that man, we can ride the borderline between underground and commercial and still stay grounded. There's a lot of people man, we've got some roots. Look at Scarface. Scarface has got a five mic album.
MVRemix: Is a freestyle, a freestyle - if it's written?
Kalage: No! I hate when they say it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! I think when they say that they're weak. Me and my boy freestyle off the top of the dome and with no previously written raps. When they start doing that, then it's cool. I'll even put some of my homeboy's freestyle's against their written verses if they need it. But it's not a freestyle, so they can keep that. I don't wanna hear the verse you've been writing for two weeks. I don't want to hear that, I wanna hear something off the top of the dome. Maybe you can't, anybody will quickly tell you he don't freestyle. But, you've got to have respect for him because he's real. If I'm hearing you "freestyle" but you've got a rap that you wrote down, and you've memorized. It's not a freestyle! That's just "Yeah, I've got a rap I want y'all to hear!" You a rapper, that makes you a rapper. That's what you do. Me and my homeboy's aint rappers man. We just business men that know how to rap. The difference is this particular hustle got us a little further than the other one. If I robbed you one time, does that make me a robber? Or did I just do it one time? Field Mob, we come off the top of the dome just as well. I'd put Field Boy Darth Brooks against anybody. Anybody! Call Russell. Call Russell Simmons. I don't think they hear us, I think the reason that they don't hear us is because all you people deaf. They either So So Def, they either eat toast or Def Jam. Or they just ignorant here, they need to holler at a Field Boy. Holler at a Field Boy!
MVRemix: What are you currently working on in addition to what you did with the album?
Kalage: Cartoons, collaborations, sit-com's in the works. We got a label, we got this FBI (Field Boy Incorporated) label that we're working on right now. We're gonna put a project out on that. We stayin' on the grizzly. So we've got some artists we workin' with. Matter of fact, let 'em know we're lookin' for a home. Sign FBI! FBI lookin' for a distribution home. Y'all better holler!
MVRemix: If you weren't making or involved with music, what would you be doing?
Kalage: Same thing I talk about in my music. I'd be out there doing that. But, I'd be doing it hard. Hard! I'd be doing it with a couple more grams. It'd be ugly. It's a hell that I ain't got to think about. Because I was blessed to be doing music. I ain't got to think about that hell. You know what I'm sayin'?
MVRemix: Any last words or comments that you'd like to put to your fans/potential fans reading this?
Kalage: I only wish smoke was here, if Chevy P, Chevy Pendigrass then y'all could really get a feel. I like when my boy be in the interview. I apologize for that. He had important, important, important, important business that he couldn't get away from. Other than that I just want to let them know that Field Mob ain't goin' nowhere. We stuck. Stop bootleggin', we got cartoons to drop for y'all, we got sit-com's finna drop for y'all. We got a record label finna drop for y'all and we have no crap artists. We have no weak artists. Other than that, we appreciate this. For everything else, we appreciate this and I thank y'all for havin' the interview with us dog. But we appreciate with whoever. I don't care if it's twenty people that listen to Field Mob, I've got them twenty people on my team. I'll end it with stanx. S. T. A. N. X!
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