Black Thought DJ-turned-record exec Kevin Black talks about what's right with hip-hop Earlier this year I attended the Urban Network Conference in Palm Springs, CA, and while some panelists and audience members decried the hip-hop of today, Interscope Geffen A&M VP/Rap Music Kevin Black expressed a different point of view. R&R: When I heard you speak at the Urban Network, you were trying to make compelling points but were frequently interrupted. KB: The point I was trying to express is, everything in life needs tweaking, everything in life needs to be polished. Everything in life needs to sometimes be rebuilt, everything in life needs to be fixed. Right now I believe the rap game is in a good scenario. We're in a better position now than we were. Yes, it's in a good position, it's just not in the best position. Who would've thought you would see hip-hop music on McDonald's and Jack In The Box and all these commercials? Hip-hop is not just music, now it's a culture. Rap music is music, but hip-hop is a culture, and I think people within themselves have got to see that you just can't look at rap as negative. I go see bad movies — do I say every movie's bad? I go see a bad Broadway play — is every Broadway play bad? This is what makes America good — you're gonna have good, you're gonna have bad, you're gonna have ugly, you're gonna have sweet, you're gonna have bitter, you're gonna have it all. I'm saying, in my opinion, rap music is not even at its peak yet. It's growing and it's growing and it's growing. But the game is changing. That's what makes this game so good — it changes. R&R: Why do you think people so frequently cite 50 Cent as having violent lyrics when his biggest songs this year have been more like hip-hop love songs? KB: I don't think 50 Cent has negative lyrics — 50 speaks from what he has been through, 50 speaks from what he has seen, 50 speaks from what he has experienced, and 50 just speaks. Arnold Schwarzenegger — every movie he made that was hot was killing people, blowing up trucks and everything. Is that a bad guy? That's the question I ask people. Arnold, who's the Governor of California — go back and look at all his movies. You have people saying the rap game is this, the rap game is that — you gotta look at some of the good the rap game has brought. One thing about rappers is they're not scared to go back to their 'hood where they're from and give back because that's where they're appreciated. I want more rappers to make it because, when more rappers make it, that means more money is coming in. When more money is generated, that means the economy is getting healthier. When the economy gets healthier, more people get happy, crime rates go down, everything is great — that's what I'm talking about. I want this game to explode. This rap game done produced some of the best. Do you understand that if it wasn't for this rap game some of these lawyers who are popular wouldn't be as popular? Some of these publishers wouldn't be as good as they are. Some of these independent record labels wouldn't be as on as they are. Do you remember Def Jam used to be an independent? Do you remember Death Row was an independent? Do you remember Bad Boy was an independent? Do you remember Interscope used to be an independent? Do you remember Priority Records used to be an independent? The game has grown, and I love it because if it keeps growing it's going to get better. R&R: What about you personally? If not for hip-hop, what would you be doing? KB: If it weren't for hip-hop, I'd probably have a marketing or sales job at one of these big firms. Or I could have gone the negative way — I'd probably be at your backdoor knocking and saying, "I'm coming in and let me in." Or I could be a guy that just went to high school and just said, "I'm gonna take anything that comes to me." R&R: You said that hip-hop hasn't reached its full potential. What do you think people in the industry can do to help it grow? KB: I love it when people keep submitting CDs and tapes because as the bubble looks like it's [getting smaller], the more people at the bottom keep submitting, the more the bubble's going to get bigger. You know what, I tell every artist if you're a singer, keep singing; if you're an actor, keep acting; if you're a guy who wants to be in the business, know what you want to do and how you want to do it. People think the hardest part is getting in the business — no. The hardest part is knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life. Anybody can get a job, but everybody can't pick a career. R&R: You work closely with a lot of mixers. Do they come to you with beats that they produce? KB: Yes, and we welcome that. Sometimes we let mixers do remixes on our records and make it happen. The whole record industry's looking for the next Puffy, the whole record industry's looking for the next Dr. Dre, the whole record industry's looking for the next Timbaland, the whole record industry's looking for the next Pharrell, the next Kanye West — everybody's looking for them. The only way you're going to nurture that is to keep stuff coming in. Because the culture will get bigger, and, when the culture gets bigger, everybody's happy, everybody's moving. There are going to be some bumps. Am I telling you this rap game is perfect? Fuck no. Am I telling you this rap game is in a good business? Hell yes. Now is it at the best point it could be? Hell no. Is motherfuckas drowning? Hell no. I love this game — I got passion, I love it. And anybody who knows me, they know it.