When Dino Mac (NEA’s leader) gets mad he puts it down on a pad, to paraphrase Mistachuck. His inspiration is the anger he feels for certain situations and people, so expect some charged songs from NEA. It’s great to listen to that sort of passion driven song, but what about the man himself? Well read on to find out more about him and NEA.

JOSHSAM: I’ve been getting e-mails on a weekly basis about NEA asking for more information, telling me how good you are. So to satisfy your fans (me included in that) give us a little breakdown of the group.

DINO: First off, N.E.A stands for the Never Ending Ass-kicking or the New Esmond Administration, which is where we’re from. Performance wise it’s comprised of myself (Dino Mac aka The GAME) and Fletc, who I met in Elementary school. We’ve been making music together since then.

JOSHSAM: In your bio on Slam it says, “Battle tested lyrical flavoured cats”, hype or really how you honed your emcee skills?

DINO: As far as battling goes, as deep as you can get into it in R.I [Rhode Island], where competition is admittedly quite scarce, I was into it. It took less than a month to go tear through that one-horse State and make my presence known. I’ve been bounced from practically every club in Providence because of my approach to it. Which is- get off the stage if you think that yanking a leg up on your pants and scribbling some nonsense in the back of a matchbook makes you an emcee.

JOSHSAM: Who produced Brainwashed?

DINO: Just to clarify a few things, when it comes to the N.E.A, I produce everything, musically as well as lyrically. Ironically, however BRAINWASHED is actually a cover of an old metal classic by Nuclear Assault from a brilliant album called “Survive”. The musical arrangement is all me but the lyrics are exactly as they appear on the original track.

JOSHSAM: Who is your DJ tell us a little about him/her.

DINO: During recording I act as my own D.J. As far as performing I use a D.J by the name of House of Pena, out of L.A, which is where I am currently located.

JOSHSAM: The song title itself is self-explanatory and the lyrics go for the jugular of the mass media, very message driven. How important is getting a message out in your music to you? Or is this just on aspect of what you have to offer?

DINO: Well, it’s why I put pen to paper and grab a mic in the first place. Whether you’re message is “Look at me, I’m so cool, I have a lot of money and you don’t…” or your message is “Fight the Power”. There’s a message. And that message will grab the attention of the audience it’s targeting if mass-produced and marketed effectively. The difference is, a song like “Fight the Power” speaks to the integrity of the artist behind the message, if only for the fact that there are much easier ways to make money than to write protest songs. With a song like “All About The Benjamin’s” you’re pretty much showing your audience your ass. In effect you’re letting the world know that you’ll do anything for a buck and if that means ringing rap-music dry until it’s a lifeless shell of it’s former self than that’s what you’ll do. It’s what you’re willing to live with.

As far as that particular track or any of my underground tapes or CD’s are concerned, I haven’t even scratched the surface on what I have to offer.

JOSHSAM: How does the writing process work for you?

DINO: In most cases the writing process begins with something or someone pissing me off. In analysing what that is I look at why it has such an effect on me. Every day I’m astounded by some display of profound ignorance on the part of mankind. So I suppose I’ll never fall short of inspiration. Every song I’ve ever written has one line in it somewhere that spells it all out, which is usually the line the song was built off.

JOSHSAM: So what after Brainwashed? Is there an album in the archives somewhere?

DINO: BRAINWASHED is on the Final Frontier L.P. Which is akin to Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” on wax, not exactly a feel-good c.d. So it is currently getting passed on by every major label in the industry. The bottom line is critics are no longer critics they are marketing tools to be bought and sold because, believe it or not, the illusion of credibility is still a commodity.

JOSHSAM: How did you get hooked up with SlamJamz?

DINO: I actually wrote Chuck D, who is a personal idol of mine. Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad’s influence can be felt so far inside and outside of rap it’s ridiculous. It’s to the point now where acts in every genre of music, no matter how far removed from the source, are indirectly influenced by the work Chuck has done. P.E may be out of touch with the blighted tastes of the mainstream but in my opinion they’re doing’ some of their best work at this very moment.

JOSHSAM: Beyond SlamJamz and your music are there any other projects you would like to let people know about?

DINO: As egotistical as this may sound, I am currently working on a solo double-album, that is lyrically and musically so far beyond the scope of anything that’s ever been done. I believe it to be the last hope in saving this dying music from the abyss. Let’s face it we’re two steps from hearing Ice Cube in shopping-mall elevators. If you’re reading this, chances are, you know rap-music is virtually irrelevant. It’s only relevance lies in its history. The story it tells and the lesson that teaches us about life. Don’t assume it’s going to get better or evolve it’s not Jazz. I talk to kids on the street, hip-hop fans who only know RAKIM as the dude on that Truth Hurts song. Aspiring emcees and DJ’s are no longer growing up on masters of the craft, they’re growing up on Nelly.

JOSHSAM: A lot of the artists I have interviewed for Slam have certain goals they want to achieve – for some it is producing an album and for others it is getting their music on a soundtrack. What are your goals?

DINO: My only goal in life right now is to complete this double-album. Lyrically, I have over 25 songs written that build off what the greats like KRS and RAKIM have done. The level of complexity and facility with which I write now The Final Frontier only hints at. So I’m eager to show my fans, all hype aside, how high the bar can actually be raised. It’s limitless.

Check out SlamJamz for more info.

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