Hip hop legends DJ X1, Stic.man and Davey D. Photo: Minister of Information JR

The man has duets wit' Badu on past albums, he has songs where he just sings, he has hard raps about bussing back at the real terrorists, the police, as well as he has deeply personal songs on his resume where he talks about what crack did to his family situation.

One time when I was interviewing Mos Def, I asked him who was one of his most favorite under-rated artists, and he said Stic of dpz, with no ifs, ands or buts about it. There was no more discussion on that topic because my ears agreed with him on that one.

One thing that I like about Stic is that his music seems to come from a sincere place whenever he is spitting it, kind of like Tupac or Scarface, where no matter if you live how they live, you can sense a sort of truthfulness that you don't feel in many of the rap artists of today. Although Stic is not as popular as he is talented right now, mark my words, in 10-15 years he will definitely be one of those rappers who define the era they come out of like Marvin, Curtis and Gil Scott.

He already has a place when I teach my children about the great musicians of my time. Check out Stic as he talks about his newest musical endeavor.

MOI JR: You have just released your new solo debut album independently. What is the title of your new album and what are the concepts behind it?

Stic.man: My new solo album is titled "MANHOOD." It's 17 all new tracks, featuring my partner M1, Khujo Goodie from the Goodie Mob, my comrade Young Noble from the Outlawz and more. We got a lot of honest music on there that was inspired by the struggle to find and define our manhood out here, ya dig?

I did the majority of the production for the tracks on the album - "Year of the Tiger," "Traffic Jam," "Coming Home," "Whatever Daddy Wants" and more - but I also got to work with producers Hi Tek ("That's What Men Do"), Jwells ("Black Girl Shine," "Independent Hustler"), Sol Messiah ("Do It Big"). And I worked with master live horn player Jerry Felter, bass and guitar player Steve Lake, and two beautiful and talented singers, Crystal Johnson and Maimouna.

The album is a combination of two words: MAN plus HOOD. The sound is mature and original. Much of the sound I chose for this album is kind of a tribute to the ‘70s soul, melodic, meaningful music that I grew up to, ya dig?

MOI JR: How has the response been?

Stic.man: Awesome so far. Sisters have really been supporting "MANHOOD." Musically and content-wise, women have been giving great feedback to the album.

MOI JR: What are the differences in your sound when you are working with your partner, M1 of dead prez, or your newest partner, Noble of the Outlawz, and when you are doing your solo Stic thang?

Stic.man: With M1 I think we pull the underground political out of each other. We tag team well, from the political to the personal, I think. With Nob it's the raw street vibe that we share and the mutual respect, let's get it done, hustler ethic, ya know? And for solo, it's my personal flavor as a man, lots of melodies, emotional music with all the above in there too.

MOI JR: You have a very unique style that I don't think limits your sound to a particular coast. Who are some of your musical influences and what do you like about them?

Stic.man: Hip Hop is so vast and it's just a part of the family of music in general, so I am inspired by it ALL really ... Play me some piano chords with some emotion and you got me stuck, you know what I'm saying? I like reality shit, West Coast, Afrikan drums, Kelis, T-Pain, Coltrane, Snoop, UGK (R.I.P. Pimp C) - shit, even Amy Whinehouse and Portishead. I love music.

MOI JR: Where can people get the new album? And what is coming in the future with you, as well as with dead prez?

Stic.man: You can get the album at dead prez's all new website www.bossupbu.com or in select stores around the country. I am working on several new books, a martial arts DVD and three films for ‘08. So far the grind is up. We also have a monthly magazine now called AMMO magazine.

And of course raising my son, training in the martial arts, being a husband and working with grassroots campaigns around the country to promote the movement as much as we can. Just striving to stand up like a man and make a worthwhile contribution to progress in our lifetime, ya heard?

Thanks for the opportunity to build, homey. Keep doing what you do, ‘cause we need you, bro.

Email POCC Minister of Information JR at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and visit www.blockreportradio.com, hiphopwarreport.com and myspace.com/blockreportfilm.

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