Evidence has long been a respected presence in music for his work as one third of hip-hop legends Dilated Peoples, as well as his production on albums for various members of the hip-hop elite such as Planet Asia, Defari, Pharoahe Monch and the Beastie Boys, to name just a few.  With the March 20th release of the Weatherman LP, he sets out to prove himself as a solo artist; still loyal to Dilated, but looking to follow the path of MCs such as Method Man and Ghostface Killah who have established a name for themselves outside of their origins with Wu-Tang Clan.

In a phone interview with CraveOnline, Edivence lets us in on how he plans to establish his identity as a solo artist, his hopes and fears for the Weatherman LP, and why smoking weed is a double-edged sword.

How have things been since the album release?

It’s been great, man. You know it’s an independent record; .it’s not on Capitol Records like what I’m accustomed to, so it’s a different grind, a different mindset, a different strategy. But um, I’ve been an independent artist also before I was on Capitol so I understand both. I’m just kind of applying the ethics of both of em into one right now, and we’re doing really well.

Why now for a solo album? Did Capitol Records keep you from putting one out until you were out of your contract with them?

Yeah, pretty much. Yes and no. Basically, everyone in Dilated always wanted to do our solo records. That’s something we’ve always known, we’ve always made it public. It’s never been a secret to our fans or anything like that. After Expansion Team, our second album in 2002, going into 2003 I was about to do my solo record when I found out that if I wanted to do it on the label I would have to sign a separate record deal on top of my Dilated contract, meaning a five-album deal with Dilated but then five albums as a solo artist on top of that. And being signed anywhere for ten albums, that’s like fifteen years of your life. It’s just not a good look. It’s a conflict of interest.

It’s a prison term.

Yeah, let me sit this out and be patient, and just wait for good things to come. So last year I asked ‘am I free to do this?’ and my lawyer said yes, and that was the exact minute I got into this record. Making this album took about eight or nine months to make, but I would say it’s five, six years it’s built up emotions and tensions and just a lot of patience waiting for this to happen.

I caught your show with Dilated around this time last year in San Diego at the Belly Up, and you had a fire in your eyes then that I hadn't seen before.

That’s dope, that’s really dope that you could see that. This is something I’ve been itching to do. Even on that Little Brother/Dilated tour I was gearing up for it, you know, cause being in a group is the shit, don’t get it twisted. I love my group for life and longer, and we’re still Dilated, we are not breaking up, let it be known right now. But it’s definitely, you know, I would say sometimes it’s hard to get everything out that you want to get out being in a group. You know, limited amount of bars, being in a group of people from different walks of life, different age groups, different sides of town, different upbringings, you know, you can’t always find that topic that you can just delve into one hundred percent.

Without compromise within, you have no group at all.

It’s always somewhat of a compromise. And it’s not a bad thing, sometimes that compromise is what makes balance and what makes you great, but it was really important for me just to have a whole album to do what I wanted to do the way I wanted to do it. It’s like an open marriage. I’m allowed to go fuck other women and still be married. It’s great.

How much time was spent working on the album?

Eight or nine months, all said and done. From the time I first put the pen down to mastering. Creatively, writing the songs and recording them, maybe six months.

Your approach isn’t exactly friendly to the radio format, yet you’re still getting love on the radio. Did the label give you shit for that?

It’s really interesting and ironic. That’s why I went with ABB. Believe me, there were some people knocking on my door to do this. Dilated, we’ve had great success over the years, who wouldn’t want to serve that? But labels just don’t get what I wanted to do. Being on a label for six years and a lot of the pressure, you know having to make whatever kind of album you want but turn in a single we can work, and that whole mentality… I’m just so relieved to be away from it for a minute that I was just like you know what, let me go make a nighttime album with both middle fingers up, ‘Fuck you recording industry,” you know what I mean? That’s really what I was trying to do. Through the process of it though, I wound up making some stuff that was pretty catchy and pretty accessible and pretty catchy without intending to do that.

What made you pick "Mr. Slow Flow" as the first single? Something tells me you had an agenda with that.

I really wanted more than anything to put “Mr. Slow Flow” out as my first single, just because everything about it says ‘not a single’. Just scratches on the hook, three long verses, slow tempo, dark, not happy...like, great. That’s what I want to do. I’m independent, I’m celebrating it, what better way to do that? And because of it, like you were saying, we’re getting some spins on the radio, YouTube is off the hook, we just submitted it to MTV after they requested changes, and you never know. I think it’s just because so many people are doing the same thing right now, it’s actually refreshing to see someone not scared to take a chance, you know? And being that I built a lot of relationships up in the industry and never really burned too many bridges, there’s still an open door for me and people are still checkin. It’s not like I’ve ever been that superstar artist like, ‘fuck y’all’. I’ve always kept it cool with everybody so they’re still giving me a shot, and it’s workin. And it gives hope to people like myself and my fans, and other artists who take a similar approach and stick to their own, that they can actually have success with it, you know?

Your track with Slug is one of my favorites off the record, but it seems to be a departure from your normal style. How did that one come about?

I wanted to get Slug on the album, cause… the name Atmosphere has been plaguing me my whole fucking career. ‘You should do something with Atmosphere, do a tour with Atmosphere, you and Slug should rap together..’ like, who the fuck is Slug, and who is Atmosphere and why are they crackin like this? Eventually I caught on, but keep in mind I’ve been hearing this since the late 90’s and shit, you know? So after a couple years of hearing it, I ended up buying some of the records and checkin it out and feelin it. Like okay, it’s not what I do, but that’s why I like it. It’s something completely different for me. And Slug always let us perform at his store 5th Element in Minneapolis. He’d let us with Dilated have our in-stores there and I caught up to him last time when Dilated and Little Brother and Defari was there, and I just pulled him aside, and we talked for the first time, took a flick, I put that flick on the internet, and you know everyone was like ‘oh, Ev and Slug, that’d be crazy’ you know, so when it was time to do this album, I just reached out to him and was like listen, I wanna put you over an Alchemist beat cause that’s something that never would happen. Let’s just do something that’ll just turn the underground upside down.

How did the song come together?

I sent him three or four beats and he picked the one that we chose for “Line of Scrimmage”. He was like ‘I love this, but I’m gonna do a real bugged-out style, I hope it’s not too crazy for you,’ and I was like ‘No, please, I’m comin for you to do you, I don’t want you to try to do what I do.’ So he lays his verse with that sing-sing kind of style (hums the vocal line) and I was like ‘Yo, that’s crazy, I’m just gonna follow in suit and just do your style,’ you know, and keep it consistent throughout the whole song. So even though I go first, it’s really his verse that came first. He’s the one that created that style.
Once we had the verses down I called him with a chorus idea, and he felt it, so the chorus is kind of based around my style, and the verses are based around his.

When you’re collaborating, is there usually a formula to how you approach a track?

Mostly we work together in the studio cause I’m sick of being put in a studio with a stranger through A&R, you know what I mean? Like, ‘now y’all create.’ I said it on Neighborhood Watch, friends make better music than strangers. I really believe that’s true.  That’s why me and Alchemist always have great collaborations. Joey Chavez and myself and Bravo, we always have great collaborations cause we understand how we move as individuals, not just what we do when we get in the studio. And back to sex again, you now you definitely have better sex with somebody that you connect with on a mental level than just a one night stand, you know what I mean? No homo, not that it’s on some guy shit. Sex is definitely a metaphor for everything in life. My girl, that I’ve been with for three years, when we’re making love, that’s better than with some chick I paid in Amsterdam in the Red Light District, you know what I mean? So..
Not that that wasn’t good, don’t get it twisted, it’s just that this is better. I feel like every collaboration that I do from here on out I really want to have a connection with that person, I don’t want to just be placed. Even though like Slug, we weren’t together while we recorded it, it was still…we built together to make it possible. The majority of my album I recorded with everybody in the studio collaborating on ideas live and direct.

Dilated is well known for socially conscious lyrics as opposed to declarations of status and material. It's a refreshing  reach back to groups like Black Moon, Leaders of the New School, Tribe Called Quest and so forth. How much of that approach comes from you?

Well see that’s why I wanted to do a solo record for the exact question that you just asked. It’s like, people walk up to me all the time and they’re like ‘yo, you’re so political, thank you,’ or ‘you raised my consciousness through this and that third line,’ but I can’t always take direct credit for that. I’m in a group with Rakaa. He’s pretty much the one who’s dropping most of those jams. If anything, all of em. So I always feel like ‘Thank you, but that’s not me.’ You know what I mean? I’m the dude that’s in the crowd, spillin beer on people, I’m more of that energy. Rakaa’s the one doing war and dropping conscious lines throughout the show, you know, and that’s why people always liked Dilated, kinda like Public Enemy, you’ve got Flav and you’ve got Chuck D. I think I’m more… not to disrespect Flav, but I think I’m more of a rapper than he was. At the same time it’s the balance of our group that’s great, so with this solo album I really wanted to do that so I could find out who was messing with me individually. Not people who are getting it confused under the Dilated umbrella. People walk up to me and they’re like, ‘thank you for the scratches or the turn-table aspect of your group’ and I can’t take credit for that either, that’s Babu, so this time it was time for ne to open up and let people know who I am as Evidence, that way we can really establish our identities within the group when we come back as Dilated in 2008. After we all do our solo albums this year, people will have a better understanding of what role we each play within the group.

So Dilated Peoples will return in 2008?

Yeah we’re gonna make the album. Whether it comes out at the end of 2008 or the summer of 2008 has yet to be seen.

You’re already an icon within the hip-hop scene, even aside from the success of Dilated Peoples, doing production for Defari, Planet Asia, Pharoahe Monch and so on. How do you plan on defining yourself as a solo artist as opposed to Evidence of Dilated Peoples?

Well my goal is, a year from now, actually a year from last Tuesday, March 20, 2008, I want to be Evidence. Not Evidence of Dilated Peoples. And it’s gonna be a tremendous task I have in front of me. But the same way you don’t really say Jadakiss of the Locks anymore, you just say Jadakiss, you know, is where I want to be. You don’t say Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan, you just say Ghostface. You know what I mean? These people really worked their way up and did a lot of groundwork to be able to earn the right to say that. Not that they’re ever not from Wu-Tang or the Locks anymore, they are for life, just like I’m Dilated for life. But if everything goes according to plan and I really get out there and hustle, people will feel comfortable enough just saying Evidence. That’s my main goal. And my plan on doing that is through the music and performance of this campaign, first and foremost with the music. If you listen to this album, I kinda really wore my heart on my sleeve; I didn’t cover it up with a jacket. I basically said ‘this is who I am, not every song is gonna be punchline and metaphors, similie raps. I’m talking about issues that are very personal to me like the loss of my mother or talking about my upbringing and where I’m from, how I got down as a kid, what led me to this point. Even songs like “Chase the Clouds Away” or “Perfect Storm” really just… painting different pictures for people to understand how I see the world and letting you into my life as a person, not just being guarded by punch one-two raps. And if you really digest this album, I’m talking about insecurities, I’m talking about a lot of things that always made me a fan of other rappers when they were able to talk about it. On this album I’m kind of showing a lot more vulnerability as an artist and my guard is definitely a lot lower than it has been. And I think if you really sit with this album you’re gonna appreciate that and get to know me as a person.

And that’s a bold step for an artist to do when they’re known as part of a collective voice.

It’s not easy. It was so difficult for me to do it. Like, I was so scared that I was gonna get a bad review and I was so scared that somebody was gonna shit on me for doing it but it’s actually been the exact opposite. You know, I got the XL and the XXL on the floor and the source and it’s just crazy, (laughs) you know what I mean? And the majority of the dot coms are really good reviews, and there’s been a couple people who haven’t seen the vision yet but they’ll catch on eventually. Right now what’s ultra-rewarding that I put a lot on the line and I’m getting a lot of it back, you know?

As for the songs "I Still Love You" and "Chase the Clouds Away", are you going to bring those songs out live, or is the material too sensitive to bring out in front of a crowd?

“Chase the Clouds Away” I’m definitely gonna perform that. “I Still Love You”, a lot of people…grown men have been telling me that it’s made them cry, my man J-Rock from the Beat Junkies was like ‘Yo, that shit brought a tear to my eye homie, you’re bold for doing that. Much respect.’ A lot of people, especially women who are mothers have been like ‘wow, thank you for having the courage to do that.’ I was really alone when I made that song. I produced it myself, rapped on it by myself, engineered it by myself cause I couldn’t have anyone around. I recorded it on Christmas…it was a really hard experience for me, and listening to it is not the easiest thing for me to do, let alone perform it, so I’m kinda just letting that one…that one’s more for my mother, just paying homage to her life and giving her a celebration. But what I have found that I didn’t realize is that a lot of people have gone through this, not just me, and a lot of people are gonna go through this eventually. And this song can help them or let them know that other people can relate to this, then I feel good that I’m doing something that’s bigger than myself.

It’s inevitable that everybody’s going to have to deal with those feelings at some point in their lives. Having experienced any loss, it’s not hard to relate to the feelings behind the song.

The hardest part about it, to be honest is just…my mother was a famous photographer and I put an interview of her like on some TV show, I forget which one it was, but I put her voice at the end being interviewed. And that’s the hardest part is just hearing her voice all the time. The song itself I can deal with, I wrote it, you know what I mean?  But the interview always gets me choked up.

Being that you’re an outspoken advocate of it, would you say that weed..

Man, I love weed…

Do you think weed helps or hurts your performance or ability to flow?

Weed is the shit. It’s a negative and a positive. I take breaks usually when I tour, I don’t usually smoke so much weed. It’s not hard to quit when you’re out of your element; you’re so busy doing press every day, you’re up late, up early, there’s not much time for you to be messing around except on off days, so like if you see me live on the tour, chances are I’ve taken a couple weeks’ break right there, just because you lose your voice so much easier, you’re less social, I don’t look at the people in their eyes as much when I’m high. I would say for creating music, weed is incredible. For performing it or promoting it, it can hinder you. Weed will definitely keep you broke. Weed is expensive..it’s like cocaine prices now. So unless you’re growing or selling it or doing something like that, it can really hurt your pockets, you know. I got a lot of responsibilities financially right now, being a homeowner and a lot of different things so I try to keep it in moderation even though it’s quite difficult to do. I definitely don’t think weed is as bad as people who don’t smoke it make it out to be. Weed is definitely a great thing for a lot of reasons. You can really shut the world out and smoke, you know, like I can make beats in my room high and just forget about everything else. Or I can read a book high and really just like put myself there. It definitely allows you to focus on the one task at hand, it just so happens that other things in the world might suffer because of it like responsibilities. It’s not just about you all the time. It’s kind of a selfish drug, but you can try to find a balance. That’s what I’m trying to do.

Preferred method?

Oh the bong, I love the bong. Blunts and joints and all that shit, that’s social, that’s social stuff. I’d usually smoke a joint then once I’m done go back into the room and smoke the bong. I just like that better.

Are your tagging days behind you, or do you still mess around from time to time?

I’m not actively out tagging, it’s mostly on paper nowadays. Those were my adolescent years.

Where’d the name Vane come from?

Yeah Vane, that’s my tag name from AWR, FX, those are my crews. Then when I started rapping I kinda stopped doing so much graffiti so I took on Evidence at that point but I still hold on to that name so people around town still know me as that. Actually, it’s getting more and more public lately that that was my tag. I’ve been doing autographs and people would be like ‘Yo, throw a Vane on their real quick.’ So that’s pretty cool.

That's our time, thanks for giving us a call man, and good luck with the tour.

Right right, thanks man. Much love. Peace.