was bootlegging it then it would be competing with something, but the fact that it wasn't out I'm glad somebody chose to sell it because that's what kept my rep up.

I read you said you picked up a lot of things working with different producers what are some of the things you picked up and applied to "All Of The Above?"

I worked with DJ Spinna and I probably learned the most from him and my engineer Elliot from Fast Forward. But [I've been influenced by] Pete Rock, Premier, Grap Luva, Joe Money, and countless DJs, I just pick up a little bit from everybody. I'm trying to develop my own sound and production wise right now my sound isn't really definitive, but it is consistent and I like what I come out with. It's very easy to compliment myself because I know what I like to do as an emcee, but I wouldn't have been able to do it like that if I hadn't studied and watched. See a lot of emcees just sit in the studio and in the booth kick their rhymes and then hang out in the lounge, but I chill right behind the board with the producer and the engineer and really watch what they do and try to pick up some tricks of the trade like how to filter, what time stretch is, how to recognize time signatures, how to keep something in key, all those things are important and I wouldn't have known that if it wasn't from watching all the producers from the best part.

What are some things as far as production that you feel you may need to improve on?

I need to learn everything there is to learn about midi interface because I have a Motif, an MPC and a 1680. I just got to really study so I can apply what I know about the keyboard to my beats and then incorporate that more.

With Satisfied you touch on the events of 9/11 and how old problems were being ignored. With that fact still being an issue where do you see the country in the next few years?

I still think that before and after you have an unaware majority and an aware minority and you have a large amount of people kept uniformed by a small amount of people and a smaller amount of people trying to keep them informed. Until you can really break those barriers and change those percentages its gonna be the way it is. You just gotta be able to teach your family whenever you can make yourself more aware definitely take that opportunity.

Do you think with amount of money commercial powers have invested in hiphop that mainstream radio can ever go back to the diversity it once had years ago?

The commercial powers are going to do what they do you just have overcome that not by trying to going through it, but by showing people there are other routes, the internet, college radio, independent records if you embrace those things and put people up onto them you don't need to get me on Hot 97 you just put the Hot 97 crowd up on WNYU. You approach it from that angle we not trying to chase after anybody. I want commercial music to be me, I don't want to make my music commercial.