Sheek Louch - "Beat Street" Before "Scarface"

MVRemix: How did you get the moniker "Sheek Louch"?

Sheek Louch: As a kid man, just rapping, runnin' around... me and Kiss. I said it in a rhyme back then, "Yo, me I'm sheik." There was two parts, Sheik was the one to start and then "Yo, I'm Luciano." Then I combined them. I don't know, it just stuck with me as a kid.

MVRemix: Who or what originally inspired you to actually start rapping?

Sheek Louch: Of course, I've got to say when me and Kiss first started I was Sean Ski and he was Little Jay and we would always listen to Run DMC. "Peter Piper picked a pepper and Run writes rhymes" we thought that was crazy. Ralph McDaniels video music box and that whole impact it had on Hip Hop, the clothing and everything man.

MVRemix: How did the LOX initially hook up with Biggie and Puffy?

Sheek Louch: We was the Bomb Squad at the time. We had this little group with me and Kiss and Styles. We was makin' tapes and selling them at high school. Mary J. Blige, being from Yonkers, she was always takin' them on the road with her and she thought we was just incredible. So one day she took us over to Puff. She gave Puff the tape and Puff had us rap in front of him. It was on and poppin' from then. Our managers at the time were Chi and Joaquin and that's before they had their label called Ruff Ryders, you know? We met up with BIG, and it was great. BIG got open up to us straight off, it was just love. No ice grillin', no nothin', he was just lovin' us. Even when Diddy was at it, havin' us do other stuff, BIG would say, "Nah, Diddy I got them. I'm good."

MVRemix: What would you say is one of your favourite memories of the time you spent with Biggie?

Sheek Louch: BIG was a real jokester. I don't know if anybody know that, but he joked a lot. Just bein' around him cuttin' jokes on everybody. He'd call us down to Lil' Kim video shoots and stuff like that. Really him, call us on the phone and have us there to get drunk. The first time he let us taste Cristal was back then, it was just crazy man. We would be at a club or somethin' and he had us like his little dunns. We'd be in the mini room at Daddy's house... he would bring all his homeboys in to hear us rap.

MVRemix: Tell me about "After Taxes."

Sheek Louch: "After Taxes" is amazing. I got the new album coming out September 20th and I just call that for what it really is. I just say like for when you win the lottery, you get this amount. But that ain't the real deal. It's this other amount right here, at the end of the day, Sheek Louch is the real deal when the smoke clears. That's why I call it "After Taxes," but I stepped it up lyrically. I got heavy production on there this time, as opposed to the other time where I didn't want too much. I wanted you to just feel me out. I got my boy Alchemist on there, Havoc, from Mobb Deep. Vinnie Idol, one of our producers from D-Block. I got Coco Chanel, the best kept secret from New York. I got Rockwilder on there. I hope I ain't missed nobody... DJ Twinz. I got some people on there. I got my boy Raekwon and Ghostface Killah on a joint. I got Redman on there, I pulled out Funkdoc on my joint. I got Carl Thomas on a joint for the ladies out there. I got Lil' Scrappy, shout out to Lil' Jon and them and I'm just grindin' man. I gave you me. I think I opened up more on this album, letting you know where I've been and what I've been doing. I just had a baby boy not too long ago and I tell everybody that. I flex it on my lyrics, things I talk about... Baby mama drama issues on there and everything.

MVRemix: How would you say it compares to "Walk Witt Me"?

Sheek Louch: "Walk Witt Me" was so different. Especially being up in that Universal system, in that big machine over there. I got off creatively, I let people get to know me and they was askin' for a new album so it worked for me that way. Not as far as sales, not as far as goin' platinum and everything, but in respect that they didn't hear me in a long time. They was just hearin' Jada and Styles and stuff like that. It definitely worked for me man, but it wasn't movin' over there with that Universal system with the Nelly's and everybody runnin' around.

"See for me it was different. I seen Scarface a little later. Mines was like "Beat Street" and "Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo." Those movies was me, with the pop-lockin' and the turntables."

MVRemix: There are rumours floating around about the LOX doing another album with Puffy involved. Is there any truth to that?

Sheek Louch: Yeah, definitely is. The new LOX album is called "Live, Suffer, Celebrate." Right now Diddy is tryin' to get us off Interscope, as well as Jay-Z. Jigga wants us to come with him also so we'll see. I guess that all should be done within the next month or so.

MVRemix: How did your relationship with Game arise?

Sheek Louch: Game and me got the same manager, Jimmy Henchmen. Besides that, Game has always been a fan of ours. He always watched our moves. He came up to Yonkers before everybody got up on him, on him. He just been around like our boy. He'd call us when it ain't even nothin', no music, no beef or none of that, just to say "What up?" And it's dope man, that's my homie. I forgot to say Game on there too, I got Game on my album and we just grindin'. I got the joint on there called "Street Muzik" and it's crazy.

MVRemix: Now because of what has been going on in the past few months, I have to ask - what's the current standing between the D-Block/G-Unit beef?

Sheek Louch: I don't respect him no more. I used to respect 50 [Cent] and the way he moved in the business aspects and everything, you know him gettin' his money. He's still gonna get his money, he's still gonna do his thing. As far as comin' at us, he knows he can't fuck around at all, point blank, with us. I guess you could call it beef. Right now it's in Hip Hop form and I hope it doesn't move as far as guns or nothin' else. But it's cool. I think it's healthy. It was good for my career, I can tell you that. It was good for him when he shut Ja Rule down. So why not shut him down and make that money?

MVRemix: Do you have any thoughts on the M.O.P. and Mobb Deep signings?

Sheek Louch: That's dope man, and if it works for them, that's dope for them both after they sign. Havoc is on my album production wise and I spoke to all of them and they said they ain't got nothin' to do with none of that [beef]. I hope they stay that way. Get your money and put out your music. 'Cause if Mobb Deep goes any other way, them bein' the Mobb, the fans are gonna tell 'em. So as far as them man, they cool with us.

MVRemix: And also, because of your affiliations with both Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, do you have any thoughts on the situation that happened a few months back with them?

Sheek Louch: I just told Lil' Kim that I'm happy that she only got one year, 'cause I heard she was gonna get five and six years and all that. So I'm glad she only got one. I know nobody wants to be in jail, period. But she got a chance to get away and shake off whoever was in her life negative. So she got a chance to get grounded and she's gonna come out to new things, a whole bunch of doors are gonna get opened when she get out. I don't know who's wrong or right. Them both be my peoples and that's what it is.

MVRemix: Which movie has impacted you the most?

Sheek Louch: See for me it was different. I seen Scarface a little later. Mines was like "Beat Street" and "Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo." Those movies was me, with the pop-lockin' and the turntables. That was it for me and "Tougher Than Leather" with Run DMC and those kinds of movies. I would see them and be like "Wow, these dudes is doin' it. I'd love to do that." You know?

MVRemix: A la "Fight Club," "If you could fight any celebrity, who would you fight?"

Sheek Louch: I'd probably knock out Morgan Freeman. [chuckles] I'd probably knock Morgan Freeman out. [laughs heartily] That's what I'd do. I'd come out there and I'd knock Morgan Freeman out for nothin'.

MVRemix: What's the current situation with the LOX album you were alluding to earlier?

Sheek Louch: Right now, Jay-Z is trying to sign us and bring us over to his empire over there. He knows what's what. As well as Diddy, he's tryin' to get that movin'. We'll see. As long as it doesn't interfere with what we're tryin' to do with D-Block. The name of the new LOX album is called "Live, Suffer, Celebrate."

MVRemix: Is there anything recorded for that album currently?

Sheek Louch: We got a couple so far, but we just started and we all kind of busy right now. But it's coming. The line-up is my album September 20th, I got the D-Block compilation coming out called "No Security." That's coming out in December for Christmas and I got everybody on there and after that we got our young boy Jae Hood. He's comin' out in February, "Tales From The Hood."

MVRemix: Aside from the album, do you have any other guest appearances or collaborations in the works?

Sheek Louch: I just did a remix to the song for the video that just dropped called "Kiss Ya Ass Goodbye." The remix is with me, Jadakiss and Young Jeezy. Me and Kiss just did the Teairra Mari remix, but it got overridden by the Kanye one.

MVRemix: Any last words?

Sheek Louch: Yeah. Support your boy Sheek man, I'm givin' you my all. I'ma keep it gangsta, I'ma keep grindin'. The album is sick. It's called "After Taxes." I stepped it up lyrically and with the beats, production wise, just everything. Keep grindin' with us. D-Block is a movement and we got a lot comin' at y'all. We ain't gonna let y'all down.