D.RAIDA PACK: FIRST OFF WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME OUT TO DO THIZ RAIDA PACK INTERVIEW. WHY DONT YOU GIVE PEOPLE A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT YOU AND YOUR CAREER SO FAR, FOR THOSE THAT DONT KNOW.

BACKSTAB: I been around like a long ass bid yo. still puttin' in work--still
learning. been putting it down since the old FENKELL avenue players days
like 95'. back when there was nothing but pipedreams. i watched detroits
current success blow up and blossom. its been a ride. alotta cats out
today were tryin to get their first piece of ass when i was puttin in
work. im O.G. i'm jus now finding a little success--a little respect.

D.RAIDA PACK: WHEN AND WHAT MADE YOU GET INTO THIZ MUZIC THING-THING?

BACKSTAB: to be honest man---spitefulness. alotta the same shit that still drives
me. watchin wack acts and scratchin my head like "how am i here--? and
how are they there?"
that-- and love for the urban culture. i spent most of my influential
years growing up in the city. it kinda got instilled in my soul.....the
cass corridor.

D.RAIDA PACK: WHAT WOULD YOU FEEL INSPIREZ YOUR PROJECTZ WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO BLAZE NEW ISH?

BACKSTAB: it all depends. topics, concepts, beats, all that shit. depends on the
situation. I got some new tracks that im gonna leak here and there and
those instrumentals just flat out told me what to talk about. other shit
i vibe on. sometimes i write to the beat. sometimes i write and then
find the beat. All of the content is completely true to me--i dont talk
much about shit that aint real-- and shit you know aint real is so far
fetched that its obvious imagery at work. i dont write for the radio,
the dj's or the business.

D.RAIDA PACK: WHAT IZ YOUR LATEST PROJECT? AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE PROJECT AS FAR AS PRODUCTION, FLOW AND TEXT? AND WHAT IS YOUR FAV. TRACK ON IT?

BACKSTAB: got a new EP im working on, im gonna drop it real quiet like sometime in
early 02. im not gonna get all excited about the release--its jus gonna
be there. prolly cuz i know thee whole album are clearable samples. but
non sampled shit sucks for the most part so---its mainly all HUSH on the
production. i gotta title it "BLOW ME"
Its just been my general feeling toward the city and the scene--i m not
to pull punches or hide my feelings.my favorite track is MAD FLUID" a
track about nothing but drinkin'.

D.RAIDA PACK: HOW CAN OUR READERZ GET A COPY OF YOUR PROJECTZ OUT?

BACKSTAB: get myshit online at http://www.hothitsinc.com
or at music shops that support local such as hot hits, rock of ages,
recordtime, etc....and look for some shit on record in the 12" section i
got comin out with the artfull dodgers, lynx, and geminigh.

D.RAIDA PACK: DESCRIBE WHAT YOU FEEL ABOUT THE DETROIT HIP HOP MOVEMENT GOING DOWN RIGHT NOW, AND WHAT DO YOU SEE FOR DETROITz FUTURE?

BACKSTAB: i feel like i almost should "no comment" this question because all i'll
do is burn bridges. but let me keep it simple. the success stories have
gotten perverse and lost track and got big heads, the underground has
some acts that are collective uprising, theres a 20% window of
underground acts that are gonna pick off where the success stories left
off, only i think they're gonna stay a little more true to the game. but
i'd say 80% of this scene is wack, holds us down as a whole, and needs
to go back to true hip-hop form. Im to blame for a lot of it because i
refuse to cockblock another dude tryin to do his thing, even though he's
wack as fuck and prolly shouldnt be gettin the shinetime. sorry if my
honesty makes me out to be arrogant or an asshole, i could explain more
but we aint got all day.

D.RAIDA PACK: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TRADITIONAL DETROIT SOUND?

BACKSTAB: detroit hip-hop is ever changing--and so are its players. i love detroit
hip-hop and always will. i dont claim to be a historian or expert but i
can say its been a pleasure watching the development of detroit
hip-hop--especially before all the bandwagon local and national "fans"
jumped on the dick. we have a mix of all genres of rap--and we're about
the only ones who can mix all those genres and make it sound dope.

D.RAIDA PACK: WHAT OTHER EMCEEZ DO YOU BUMP?

BACKSTAB: who'm i bumpin?
i gotta say pretty much nothing but local cats. i get alot of local
from cats who want play on cjam (LOCALS ONLY radio show CJAM RADIO
91.5FM WINDSOR/DETROIT 2-6AM WED NITES)
SO I play a lot of local artists--far to many to name. as far as
nationals i like that obscure shit--the past four cd's i bought were
krs-1, sticky fingaz, esham, & the liks.

D.RAIDA PACK: DO YOU HAVE ANY GUEST APPERANCES OR NEW PROJECTZ BEING WORKED ON?

BACKSTAB: im stockpiling some clearable instrumentals for a national project, with
that being said we're looking for a decent national name to guest
appear. but im not one for loading up on already famous rappers to make
my shit sell -so if niggaz aint buyin it for me--they aint buyin it.

D.RAIDA PACK: WHAT DOES BACKSTAB MEAN TO YOU? WHO IS HE AS AN ARTIST? AND WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IZ HIZ STYLE?

BACKSTAB: BACKSTAB the KINGPIN is the opitomy of detroit hip-hop. IN YOUR FACE,
CONTROVERSIAL, and HONEST. alotta cats be some backstabbin ass ma-fuckaz
but im upfront-- you wanna play games and front on me....BACKSTAB! im
not into smiling around and playing the game--i come correct and stay
about buziness. Backstab also has alot to do with backstabing my
ethniticity, town i grew up in, and overall general philosophy thats
been attempted on me with their brainwashing and assimilation tactics.

D.RAIDA PACK: WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE INDUSTRY? (DEAD OR ALIVE)

BACKSTAB: ICE-T on the guest artist
R. KELLEY on the backround vocals
PREMIERE on the beat
DEATH ROW as the label

D.RAIDA PACK: WELL THAT ABOUT DOES IT, DO YOU HAVE ANY SHOUTOUTZ TO BLAZE INTO THE CYBER WIND?

BACKSTAB: BIG-UP to the raider pack im down to record with yall, support yall shows, buy yall album, and rock yer crowds--big-up to the local scene and those workin hard to make shit happen. peace and good fortune
to all! THANKS FOR HAVING ME.