Strict Flow exudes the sort of professionalism it takes to make a living off hip hop. I get a lot of requests to do interviews, but usually the effort isn't worth it. With Sied and Masai, this was quite the opposite. They've already got a sharp website. Snippets of the album are available on many websites. Strict Flow is accessible from every angle. Before I knew it, the interview was done and here it is.

When it comes to putting Strict Flow in a category, or placing them historically... the group is quick to point out that they aren't easily categorized. As you will see, Strict Flow takes the music seriously... and it shows. These guys are on a quest to make dope hip hop. And they're not afraid to branch out stylistically. There are traces of other artists, but every song has a different style. There is no allegiance to one particular school of hip hop thought. To me, Strict Flow represents a new sophistication among independent artists, who are self-contained and fiercely independent. Dedication, constant touring, and lots of hustle is what it takes to make it in the independent rap game. Strict Flow handle this task with ease.

This is a very informative and insightful interview. It was conducted by email in March of 2003.

Where are you from?

Strict Flow are all original 412 (Pittsburgh) Natives. Sied, Chad, and I are from the east side of the city. E. Dan is from the West.

What are your favorite spots in Pittsburgh?

Sied and I don't drink or smoke (anything) period and never have once in our lives. Chad in Eric may occasionally have a beer or whatever but, where we go really is depending on what's going on there that night. The spot we probably most frequent is Club Laga for concerts or The Memphis Lounge and Zythos for like a laid back chillot atmosphere. Honestly with producing, writing, touring, owning and running a recording studio and a record label there isn't a lot of time to go out.

Are independent artists getting play in Pittsburgh?

Actually, contrary to popular belief... YES! WAMO, which is our major urban station in Pittsburgh has actually taken steps to get good music on the radio when they can. Our new single MOVE! is in regular rotation, and plays right after Jay-Z and right before Genuine a lot of the time. With cats like Kode Wred and Boogie up there who actually care about music, I think that Strict Flow can pave the way for good music whether it's independent or not to make an impact on the radio. But overall there are still a lot of politics with commercial radio. Like my man D told me a few weeks ago, "Don 't get mad at the game.Learn how to play". The oter thing is that the line between what is independent and what isn't is so blurred right now that it's very hard to say. Like is Kweli independent. He was at one time.But they play, "Just to get by" a lot as well.

When did Strict Flow form? How long have you guys known each other? Are all of you from Pittsbugh?

Strict Flow as a 4 man crew formed in 1996. Sied and I had been finding ourselves for 2 years previous to that. Chad and I have known each other since 90. Sied and I have known each other since 93. Eric and Chad have known each other since about 94. Sied and I met Eric in 96. Sied and Chad met in 95 if that makes sense. Yes we were all raised in Pittsburgh.

Do you have any crew affiliations?

No & Yes. Like officially we represent Strict flow and our label Authentic Recordings. But along the road we've met so many people that we consider family now in music that it's hard to say NO we don't have any crew affiliations. Like the artists on our label like Ron Noodles. I feel like he 's in the crew. The artist we travel and perform with on the road, I feel like they are a crew. But soon you will see a posse record similar to Def Squad or something like that where we combine some forces.

What 12" singles have you released?

"People on Lock" was our first 12 inch single. That was released through then powerhouse independent label Raw Shack in New York. Before us they had several successful releases Like J-Live, Mr. Complex, Yeshua the PO E.D., Moodswingaz, etc. So when we came we were like the next wave of Raw Shack. Unfortunately the business of music took over the situation and we couldn't really work things out. But the 12 had a lot to do with our introduction to the world. The second 12 we released was "Don't Stop " in the late spring of last year. Don't stop Went to the top of the CMJ charts. It was 3 years after POL got released and People really didn't expect that from us but I think the originality caught their attention. The last 12 inch we released is "MOVE! (Strict Flow Crew)" to promote the new Album Without Further Ado. In Stores Now.

Your beats are solid... who handles production? Any guest production?

STRICT FLOW is a self-contained unit. We produced the entire album back to front. No guest producers or anything like that. E. Dan and Chad Glick are members of the grop fr production. That would be like someone else producing on a Gangstarr album. Wouldn't make sense. So maybe one day you'll see a guest remix on a 12 inch b-side but for now we're sticking with out production team. On Move I say, "They kept us locked in cages" that means that we've been unable to release records for so long, bottled up without an outlet to release music to the public properly. Now that we have our own label and national and international distribution.we're going to be producing tons of beats for SF and other artists.

How did you hook up with J.Sands for "The Genuine Article"?

J-Sands is from Pittsburgh. He's definitely the most recognized independent hip-hop artist from here, outside of Pittsburgh. I've known him for years. He used to tell me about his man from Brooklyn and his boy from Cincinatti all of the time, and how they were going to blow-up. I never could remember the dude from BK's name because it was hard to pronounce. Feel Me? But Sands had put out about 200,000 12 inches with cats from all over the planet, but not really collaborated with an artist that I thought was making an impact at home. In 2001 he asked Sied and I to be on this Politix Remix with Asheru & J-Live. I still don't know what happened with that record but regardless I thought it was important to show the world that the 412 has some very important artists. I think for Pittsburgh to get more recognition and respect we needed to join forces and make a song together. Ego and all of that shit went out the window and the song came out lovely. Sands is a cool cat, we're actually doing a show together next month.

"As Good As It Gets" with Invincible really smokes... how did you hook up with Invincible?

I met Invincible in 1998 in Philadelphia. It's strange thinking back on it but we were chilling with a wide range of cats that weekend. Right then, Bahamadia was fucking with the Jedi Mind Tricks doing a record called the Army of the Phraroahs or something like that. My man Louis Logic was also fucking with Jedi mind Tricks on another joint. My other boy L- Fudge was recording some stuff with us and Louis Logic at my other man Chop's crib. That weekend Bahamadia was throwing a bash with like an allstar line up of underground hip-hop heads. At that time we were mad hungry and would just crash shows and try to blow the stage up. The line up was like Scratch (from The Roots), who was taking Rahzels spot so that Raz could do his solo album. But nobody knew him at the time. Pace Won, Slum Village, Malik B was there doing some shit, the rest of The Roots were there as spectators. Mr. Len, 88Keys, Pumpkinhead, a whole bunch of other cats.and this all girl crew called The Anomolies. Invicible was rhyming over Come Clean and she ripped it. Not on no girly shit. She ripped it and the crowd lost it. So right then I knew that we would eventually do a record. I'm a sucker for real emcees and she's one of them. Thinking back on it that weekend was crazy because I think so many cats made an impact that night on and underground level with just raw skill before anyone knew their names. There was even this dirty fat dude named Beenie something that was battling anyone who would come in the cypher. Another fat dude with a big afro walked passed him on his way out and said that Beenie was dope. I think less than a year later they dropped a single together on an album that also featured a cameo by EVE. This really sounds like the hip-hop Forrest Gump but the shit is true. We flew Invincible in, she came to the studio wrote her joint, recorded it the next day. End of story. She's got a lot of talent and she's just an overall cool person.

"The Genuine Article" is real smooth and reminds me of Slum Village. Along with "Deja Vu," it shows a real diversity of perspectives. Does this reflect the group's experience in life?

With four cats that grew up with different lifestyles, different perspectives, and different experiences.there are always going to be diverse creative approaches. I never ever want people to know what to expect from us, with the exceotion of it being real and quality. Most of the people that have heard the SF 12inches previous to this album would have never expected to us to do some of the things that we did on it. I like that. "Déjà vu" is actually a metaphor for a relationship that I was in and how my music and rise in popularity effected us. I was kind of in the position where I felt like I had to chose music or her. The club and the show and all of the other stuff are just part of the metaphor.

Do you think hip-hop on the radio generally reinforces stereotypes?

I think that entertainment is sensational. I think that the easy is way to be entertaining is SEX, VIOLENCE, and IGNORANCE. So if you have a bunch of uncreative people for the most part in every level of the music industry (execs, producers, and artists), the majority of the music that is put out thee to commercially entertain is going to reinforce violent, sexual, and ignorant stereo types .YES. What we've got to do as creative artists is find a way to be sensational enough to appeal to the masses and change what they think is entertaining while still staying true to what is real for us. When you can do that then you can co-exist with all of the corny and cheesy records because you've found appeal without sacrificing reality.

Is there anyone else with whom you'd like to collaborate?

Collaborations to us have always come by coincidence. We've never done a song with someone that we didn't know, meet, and connect with previous to considering doing a song with them. I just don't feel those albums that you go get everyone that is hot at the time and do a song with them where it feels like you were on 2 different planets when you did it. So I'm sure there are people that we'll do a joint with in the future. But right now, no one jumps to mind.

Where (and with whom) have you done shows and/or tours?

Headlining our own tour is always the best thing, but we've toured the planet basically and done shows with almost every group that we possibly could imagine. You name them we've supported them been on tour with them before. Strict Flow is a performance group first. That's where we are the most sure of ourselves and most comfortable. Recording in the studio is something that changes for groups year after year with technology and how you feel at the time. Whether it's London or Cali or Toronto. We've been there. We're actually on our way to Japan in June.should be fun.

Will you be touring in support of the new album?

Again Not touring is never an option. There's nothing like seeing a group who's album you like or are in love with live. Hopefully everyone at least likes our album, so when we get the opportunity to show them a live rendition of it, we try to make them love it. My goal is to get every single person who buys the record to see us perform. I know on stage we do something special that a lot of other groups can't. There's nothing like it so yes we will support every album and project with a gang of shows.

How was the video shoot for "Move"? Where is it getting play?

We shot the video in a sound stage in Toronto. We've been filmed before by camera crews at shows and interviews but videos are totally different. The attention to detail and the direction is something that takes a little bit of adjusting to. When I'm on stage I'm free, I'm the director and the crowd is the actor. But in the video situation the director is trying to achieve a vision and it's our job to help him realize that vision. Shooting on film and with a bunch of lights makes things have to be a lot more coordinated. Marc DeBruyne really did his thing with this one considering his limitations and that we shot this thing in one day right in the middle of a tour. I love it and I think it captred a lot of the enrgy and image of the group. MTV2 is considering it now but other than that we're getting plenty of regional shows from New England to Cali playing the video. The underground hip hop shows.That's where te buzz is important although if you guys see anyone from TRL put in a good word. Videos are very political .It's like visual radio.

Do you feel that Strict Flow can achieve its goals in hip-hop by working within independent hip hop community, as opposed to working with majors?

I think that the independent hip-hop community is the foundation. So if as an artist those were the only people I reached then I would be satisfied. But, I think that our music can chage peoples stereotypes and be enjoyed by a widespread audience that may not necessarily be a part of the independent hip-hop community. As a label president I want to see my records be competitive with every other genre in the country. The independent hip-hop community alone does not have the numbers for that to happen. I've seen Jurrasic 5 go from indie to Interscope. Black Eyed Peas did the same thing and they both seem to have achieved a certain amount of success with it. Dialated Peoples went to Capitol. But there have been plenty of groups and labels that were indie that did it specifically for a check because I think they were short sighted with their vision. Like Rawkus going from Caroline (our distributor), to Priority, to the now defunct I believe MCA. Mos Def hasn't released another album, nor has Pharohe Monch. It just seems like they were really in control but then lost sight for a check. So I think that as long as Authentic keeps it's goals in front of us, instead of our bank account we'll be alright no matter if we remain with Caroline or end up with Sony. It can't only be a financial decision, because with every check you take you're giving up something too.

Have you considered major label backing?

Yes we've considered and turned down everyone so far in the US that has been brought our way.

Do you think hip hop is a force for positive social change?

I think hip-hop is the voice of the people. I don't think the people are seeing positive social change. The stories you here in songs aren't completely false everytime. That means the youth that are making these songs are giving accounts of things they see feel and have to deal with. I think when positive social change is seen by the people who only have hip-hop left to turn to then you'll see it be the voice of something positive. But the overwhelming majority of what we see is negative, especially in the inner city areas which this culture spawned from. Hip-Hop can influence positive social change but it could never be a completely positive voice unless real life reflects that. Songs like Nas' new joint "Be What I wanna Be" or whatever it's called are in short supply. Russina Roulette on our album I think is a positive song. But it may not be put out there that way. But it's an issue that effects our community and culture and it is going to stop at least one person out there from contracting aids or another sexually transmitted disease. So I hope that answers it. It's sort of a double edged sword though.

Shout-outs? Thank-yous?

Shouts out to the Stinkzone, strictflow.com, everyone out there that is working on and supportingour record, Authentic Recordings staff, etc etc