He’s Just… Casual
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It’s an early evening in cold downtown Seattle when Seaspot editor Dove and I meet up with Casual at his supposedly ‘haunted’ hotel. Casual is engrossed in a game of Madden 2G with his homeboy Lou. The score is 0-0, but Casual takes a moment to discuss his views on Hip Hop and his new album He Think He Raw.
It’s funny with some artists. They name themselves with titles that seem to have no meaning or relevance to the artist him/herself - not Casual though. The East Oakland native and one part of the all-star team known as Hieroglyphics is hungry and he says, “The new album is good, it allows me to talk about the things I experience and I don’t have to ask anybody what they think, [because it’s all my work].”
(14-7 Casual) Work Casual does. He’s in the Wetlands on this chilly night to perform at one of Seattle’s hubs for Hop Hop, the I-Spy. “The Northwest kinda reminds me of the Bay, it’s just a little more wet, but the vibe reminds me of the Bay a little,” says Casual about the feel of the Emerald City. As Casual sits on the foot of his bed at the hotel, he’s running his homie Lou - and casually keeps the conversation going about his upcoming album and shows.
Touring with the newsworthy veterans The Coup, Casual is gaining more exposure - as the revolutionary group from the Bay is finally receiving the mainstream recognition that got NWA and Public Enemy national scrutiny. But Casual isn’t trippin’, “I haven’t really noticed anything so far, but the Coup does their thang, we just out here doing this tour [to promote the albums].” He’s too Casual.
When addressing his solo release He Think He Raw on Emporium Records (of which he is a co-owner) he gets excited. “Man, it’s just cool owning the label, because they’re playing real Hip Hop on the radio and people are going triple platinum…I’m also doing well, because now we make ten [dollars] per album, instead of one when we were signed with Jive.”
(30-14 Casual) Like so many of the artists in Hip Hop culture, Casual is using his creativity and that signature Bay Area hustle to get down and dirty in this fast moving industry, and he attributes his and the entire Bay’s success to the original Todd Shaw. “Aw, Short been puttin’ it down. Oakland is still the land of Short, because I remember him back in the early eighties. The Bay wouldn’t be the same without him.”
Casual is an old school cat and his show reflects this, as he’ll occasionally dip with a freestyle and get the crowd involved. “Yeah, I gotta hit’em with a freestyle…I mean, some of my influences did the same thang - artists like Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and of course Too Short.”
From the old school to the new, Casual has been there and even though he was listening to Hip Hop back when it wasn’t mainstream, he doesn’t have a problem with artists working with pop stars as a part of their career. “It’s all one thing, Rap and Hip Hop”, says Casual, “I’m not gonna hate on anyone, [if you like Britney Spears music] it’s just different…and just because you have talent doesn’t make you popular to be honest.” Word to Ras Kass.
(40-14 Final) “There are more white people at our shows now, but that’s cool. I’m glad that they’re coming. I would like to see more sisters come and see us,” explains Casual when asked about the increasingly large suburban crowds at Hip Hop shows. “You go to any Hiero show and the crowd looks the same, except L.A. sometimes.” Casual makes it clear that he rocks with any crowd and he’s in the game to do his thang - looking for more shows to rock and keeping it casual with his people.
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