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Rock Right Now
E.T. (Ft. Mickey Factz)
Good Morning to all here is the morning paper for everybody. In our "Get to Know" section we have brought you some of the dopest upcoming talent out and it doesn't stop there. Harlems Cash is an upcoming emcee from, yes, Harlem and is well known for his battles on Smack DVD, RealTalk, and The Come UP DVD. Yet what plagues some battle rappers is the inability to write hit records and as you can see by some of his latest material, that is only true for some but not for Harlems Cash. Welcome to Bank....Enter Harlems Cash.illRoots.com: Why do you call yourself Harlem's Cash?
Cash: Basically my name was Cash at first but everytime someone would look something up it didn't make any sense because there is like a million things that come up with Cash and I was thinking "How can I come up with a new way to describe myself to separate me from all this?" and "What embodies ME?". I looked at everything from the music, to the way I talk, the whole swagger and everything that represents me is Harlem. I had a meeting with Tina Davis one time when she was working at Def Jam and as soon as she seen me she said "Ok you from Harlem right?", I was like "Yea, How can you tell?. She said "I can tell exactly where your from by the way you act." Since that day it just kind of stuck with me I'm Harlem's Cash.
illRoots.com: How do you feel your music is going to make an impact with music being in the current state?
Cash: I think really right now people are looking for something to gravitate too because there is so many different things that are going on. A lot of people are mad at certain types of music, but I believe that everything going on right now is good for Hip-Hop because its so many different things you won't become bored of it. I think myself I have a totally different lane than everybody. It's a little bit of rock mixed with a little bit of hip-hop so it will impact definitely since it is set up on not just one genre. I think I am a universal artists. Individuality is the key these days, nobody wants another Big or Pac they want something new. Right now look at the game there is at least four different Jeezy's rapping right now. There is a few people doing the Kanye thing.
illRoots.com: If I want T.I. I don't want T.I. Lite.
Cash: Yea, T.I. part two, it makes no sense. Go for the original, that's why I'm kind of excited about music right now because when I hear dudes like Kidz in the Hall, like Mickey Factz like M.I.A., like Santogold. Its crazy because like a few years back you would look at them like they were crazy weird but now its too a point that they can do whatever they want since there is so many ways to promote it. The internet has helped a lot of people because the internet touches everyone and everyone is different. So I remember when 50 Cent came in every song had gun shots on it because he was doing it and the music would suffer because everyone had gun shots on their record. It became so annoying. You have a million people trying to do what one person did doesn't sell records.
illRoots.com: Plus, I am not a violent person. I don't want to hear gun shots all the time.
Cash: All day, right?
illRoots.com: Or even still you got people who are living in poverty and don't want to hear that all the time. For example, If I here gun shots all day and the first thing that comes on is "Bop, Bop, Bop".
Cash: [Laughs] It makes no sense. Music should give you an escape or make you feel I can get out of this, not let me hold my man down more or let me kill the next man because he's looking at me wrong. Your life is not about that man, If you carve your own lane you will be good. Everyone who told there own story sold more than 5 million records. Eminem came in and sold records, 50 Cent came in sold records. If you follow that path, not necessarily the music they made but the concept of telling YOUR story and the blueprint of staying true to yourself then your going to be good in this game.
illRoots.com: What motivates you?
Cash: I think my kids have been one of the biggest motivations in my life. Over the past year I have gone harder than any other time in my life. Even when I was signed I wasn't going this hard. You see them and you want more for them.
illRoots.com: I think honestly right now more than anything that it trickles down from the corporate stand point and people see success and put it in packages.
Cash: Nowadays its so many ways to get money if you stick true to yourself and put out a product that is solid you can go on tour for the rest of your life with it.
illRoots.com: People fail to realize about a long term plan. I think especially right now people put out a mixtape and don't know what it is for.
Cash: The thing that you have use the 'Net for is not just throwing songs out on their but it has to be strategic. People waste a lot of good material that way. Sometimes people aren't consistent with it, I've put out a song every week with the help of my team for the last 2months leading up to my mixtape an the response has been crazy, I am very fortunate with everything that is going on right now and I see the plan before I am even thinking it.
illRoots.com: You can't do everything on your own.
Cash: Nah you got to have a team it looks better too, because people see that you are about your business.
illRoots.com: I think also people really aren't very innovative any more.
Cash: Let me ask you this: "What is one of the best body's of work to this day?"
illRoots.com: Reflection Eternal: Train of Thought. So, what albums are you looking forward too this year?
Cash: Of course you have to say Wayne's album because its getting so much hype for like the past two years since the last one dropped. I am pretty much waiting to see if he had any growth and the Nas album because I really like the songs he's released so far. The joint "Be a Nigger Too" joint is my joint.
illRoots.com: I hate to be a pessimistic but the Green Lantern tape, I think will probably turn out hotter than the album, because of the Label BS.
Cash: Yea alot of people do that though, they come out with a tape before the album that is normally way better than their actual album. I don't know why I guess they are just trying go super hard and get a ton of attention from the public that when the album comes out its hard to put out another gem.Today I just got put up on this guy Kid Cudi and he has this record "Day and Nite" and like I'm falling in love with this record.
illRoots.com: Yea man, I like dude but I'm really looking forward to hear what Common puts out because this time around he was talking about no sorts of Kanye on their and I want to see if he gets supa creative with it or what direction he goes.
Cash: Yea the last joint was pretty cool, my dudes couldn't rock with it but I like different type of joints. The joint with Lily Allen is my joint to this today.
illRoots.com: Common is always going to put out a good selection.
Cash: You know what he does that is always good too, he doesn't try to kill you with 20 to 30 tracks. His albums are normally a good 10 to 13 tracks.
illRoots.com: Alot of people got on him for putting out BE with such a small selection but BE was hard as shit.
Cash: It had like 10 joints on it.

illRoots.com: Yet them 10 joints he had were tough as shit. The intro to that shit was fire.
Cash: You really only have people for 10 tracks because you have fillers such as interludes and skits so I can see why eliminating those fillers would be a good thing. Realistically you only get paid to do like 12 to 15 songs and after that its you just rocking out just to do it. So why would you waste your budget for no reason?
illRoots.com: Right now what can we look forward too from you?
Cash: The next project is "Harlemwood, Cashifornia", thats just the project that we are working on now to drop in the summer. So we are gearing up all the press for that. Basically thats my baby, I'm putting so much effort and not trying to put out a mixtape, more so a street album. I'm not going on nobody elses beat and sonically it sounds like nothing you've ever heard. That's why I was kind of tight when I heard that Kid Cudi because its so was crazy. Its so many people trying to be other types of people and its so corny. Just be yourself, even if your a cornball then be a cornball, because there is a million cornballs out there that will follow you.
illRoots.com: Bill Gates is the corniest, yet the richest.
Cash: Be yourself and it will translate in the music. You can tell when somebody is trying to get it because they don't connect to the people. When Kanye dropped "Can't Tell Me Nothing" it was such a heart felt record that it instantly connected with the people. It still translated to the pop crowd because he was true to himself and people saw that. Everyone has a story, if you are true to yourself then you will succeed.
illRoots.com:As far as Hip-Hop give me one record that you think, thats out on the radio, that you would listen to?
Cash: My joint right now is Kanye's verse on the Lollipop remix. The way he got on that song was like he would not let Wayne outshine him on that record. The way Wayne gets on songs and especially other peoples songs and murders them, Kanye would not let him do that. Kanye put himself in a lane to where you will not kill him, he O.D'ed on that track. He even said "I'ma rhyme like I got some respect for myself". He's in a space where he's not doing it to make people like him but more for the music itself. Now he's just trying to show his ass, because when you start you can't do that, you have to just give them a little of what they want. Until you get to a certain point where you can just go off and thats what he's doing now.
illRoots.com: One label, any time period, which one would you sign too.
Cash: Interscope, because Interscopes track record with rap is great. Def Jam at some parts were luke warm and then hot but Interscope all the way through has had a great track record with rap artists. Its been the same bunch of people signing new talent from the Eminems to the 50's because its all under one umbrella and its all going back to Interscope. Their machine is crazy but it would be nice to be signed to Def Jam though because they do have a certain Hip-Hop vibe.
illRoots.com: Either 93' Rocafella or 84'/85 Def Jam.
Cash: 93' Rocafella ! before they popped.
illRoots.com: You want to be there before they pop because you want to be at the fore front of what happens. Harlems Cash in three words?
Cash:Loyal, Ingenious, and Trust worthy.
illRoots.com: What do you want to be remembered for?
Cash: I just don't want to be remembered as the dude that came and went. If I do come and go, I want you to remember me as someone who stamped a period in your life. I want you to think back to 2008-09 and say "Thats the year that cash did it". Too many people want to be the greatest, you just have to do you and leave a stamp. Hopefully the stamp that you make will change somebodies life.
illRoots.com: Thanks to On the Glow, again. As well as the big homie Harlems Cash and look out for this guy as he is moving up in the ranks big time. The game is about to become real serious this year.