Upon first meeting in 1992, Rakaa and Evidence knew they shared a common respect for Hip Hop culture and their graf writing. Simple greetings turned into lengthy conversations, and eventually a decision to team up and create some music together. They clicked immediately and began to expand on their mutual interests in Hip Hop. Rakaa was already involved with other organizations but was still open to starting a new group with Evidence. "I was asked to join an L.A. Bomb Squad chapter of the Rock Steady Crew by Crazy Legs. Still to this day it’s very important to me and I feel very proud to be a part of it," Rakaa says. "I was already really into poetry, speech, debate and some theater. Hip Hop is just what I chose to become a part of. At one point I felt a connection between the poetry and freestyle. It’s just what stands out most to me."

Evidence was a Hip Hop junkie as far back as he can remember. Even though he has gained recognition for his skills on the mic, he has still had to endure critical fingers pointed at his multicultural background. With a Russian mother and Italian/Puerto Rican father (and even more nationalities mixed into his family tree), Evidence realizes that some people can only focus on the lightness of his complexion, even though his track record in Hip Hop culture has been respectable. "I had to deal with more internally than with what people were saying," he explains. Graffiti is [filled with] multicultural cats – it didn’t really matter, if your shit was fly it was fly. Most graffiti artists are anonymous, and when people go out and bomb they see your tag, they don’t see the person – that’s the beauty of graffiti. I never tried to make what I am a big deal – it’s just that other people tried to make it a big deal. I’ve got a bunch of different blood in me, I consider myself Italian - that’s how I was raised. Now you’ve got [people labeling themselves] ‘Italian rappers’ and ‘Irish rappers’, but it just is what it is."

Although Evidence incorporated beat making into his gamut of cultural skills, he didn’t intend to turn producing into a full-time job. "The production thing really wasn’t my choice" he says, "It was out of necessity so we didn’t have to hit people up for beats. My dream was always to be a rapper". He found that people were more willing to work with him as a producer than as an emcee, most likely contributable to the competitive nature that most emcees possess.

    In 1994 the Rakaa and Evidence signed with DJ Lethal, who was working with House Of Pain at the time, and he agreed to shop their project - landing them on Immortal Records. They worked with Xzibit on the single "Gone for Broke" and Redman entered to produce and rhyme on "Mood Swings". The complete record was never released due to industrial neurosis after House Of Pain’s second album didn’t do as well as the first. Immortal did include one song featuring Dilated Peoples on The Next Chapter compilation "Into The Time" produced by E-Swift of the Alkaholiks, however once the compilation was released Immortal lost their distribution deal with Sony Music. Due to contractual legalities, Dilated was forced to leave their masters with the label.

    Evidence and Rakaa forged ahead on various independent projects, without pondering the loss of their first project. Evidence had experienced many changes in his voice since the age of fifteen when they first began recording. He enjoyed the more mature vocal quality he had after the Immortal deal fell through. Evidence soon began production on Defari’s album and Dilated was introduced to Bay Area mogul Beni B with ABB Records in 1997. That same year the group inducted their friend and deejay extraordinaire Babu into their creative cipher.

    ABB Records put out the 12" single "Third Degree" as Dilated Peoples toured the Cali club circuit with fervor. Their second 12" "Work The Angles" made noise in 1998 with the formidable finesse of Kutmaster Kurt’s production. After impressively moving more than 30,000 copies, the remix "Rework the Angles" featuring Xzibit, AG and Defari graced turntables nationwide.

    Record labels began to approach them with hefty promises, but Dilated Peoples chose to sign with Capitol Records – a label inexperienced in promotion of the underground Hip Hop genre. Since the group already had a healthy repertoire of recorded tracks, it was a relatively smooth transition. In 2000 The Platform was released, and Dilated pushed on with their independent endeavors as well. They toured relentlessly in 2000 and even joined forces with Okayplayer.com, the internet home of The Roots, Common, D’Angelo, Reflection Eternal and The JazzyFatNastees. Their domain, Error! Bookmark not defined., has received accolades for its functioning virtual Los Angeles train system and secret surprises. The more exposure they got, the more their internet guest book filled up with avid listeners yearning to know more about them. Capitol Records re-released The Platform early in 2001 with a promotional thrust garnished by Dilated Peoples newfound mass appeal.

Hard Hitters
Babu has proven that he is more than the average Hip Hop deejay. His juggling extends beyond beats into the time management of his two group commitments and various production endeavors. "It’s pretty rough. I’m just lucky that before I committed to Ev and Rakaa they knew how important Beat Junkies was to me. Both groups really understand my need to be involved with both of them," he explains. "It’s hard – I don’t even know how I do it. I’ve got a really supportive family too. Everything I do benefits everyone - at the end it’s always worth it. When I wasn’t with Dilated Peoples, it was a balance of being with Beat Junkies and being a manager at Phat Beats in L.A."
    Rakaa seems to breeze through his music much as he does his life – with a mellow approach and strong presence. One would never guess that his biggest challenge in the business is boredom. His words flow softly and melodically as his eyes seem to focus on everything but the intended listener as he speaks. "My mind is always moving and I’m always working on a million different things, whether it’s music or something else. I get bored easily and I have to catch myself. I’ve been doing things to help my focus [like] meditating and breathing." Evidence’s only thought on challenging situations is that he thinks too much before shows, leading to unwarranted stage fright. "Once my foot hits the stage, I’m alright," he smiles.

    With their steadily rising stardom has come a barrage of criticism from worshippers of mainstream music. Dilated’s sound is based on original Hip Hop, and Rakaa is quick to admit that industry professionals have attempted to get the group to change their sound to suit the crossover crowd. "Of course, they try and give pressure. If you’re making product and somebody’s trying to sell it, they want you to make the most buyable product – but nobody makes the decision but us. We have the ability to say this is what we’re gonna do and we’re gonna stand behind it. That’s why we did it ourselves when we left our other label – to perfect the craft and to let anybody in the future know that we’re willing to do it for ourselves."

Rakaa describes his lyrical style as "heavy hardcore rhythm & poetry - constantly evolving". Evidence offers little description of his style, but definitively states "I want to be heard. A lot of people have a million words and you can’t understand them. What I do is audio stimulation. I can write something down, but if I can’t make people feel it then there is no point. People say I rap too slow or whatever but they can hear me." As a duo they combine written rhymes with freestyle to contain the purity of their art. "Some songs are pure freestyle, composed in the studio," says Rakaa. "I think the ability to freestyle allows you to try different things in the studio and it adds to the spontaneity."

    Dilated Peoples has had to deal with criticism, as most artists do, without jeopardizing the relationship between them and their fans. Babu confesses the challenge of not letting negativity get to him. "I’m really just learning how to deal with it now. I try to base everything on skills. I don’t stay on the net too much or chatrooms – you gotta let it roll off your back. People know I’m humble and down to earth and it hurts when someone attacks me." A nonchalant Rakaa further explains, "Criticism comes in a lot of different styles and from a lot of places. Certain criticism I deal with positively, certain criticism tests my patience and peace of mind, and some I ignore as opinion." He copes with praise in a similar fashion. "They’re both expressive and are two ends of the same stick. I take into consideration the source – it’s positive energy – how can I be mad at that?"
    "I’m a Hip Hop fan more than anybody," Evidence ardently projects. "I live it – I’m really hard on myself. When I hear somebody say I don’t try and I put my heart in it – it’s hard. The people I don’t care about are the shit-talkers. The people I do care about are the supporters. Hip Hop is so divided, so I’m not going to please everybody. A lot of rappers are ashamed of their fans – I’m glad our group is for ALL of our fans." Babu continues in agreement, "I’d rather have a small group of fans who listen to our music for years instead of a large group who only listen for a few months."

Expanding the Angles
Keeping their philosophies in mind, Dilated Peoples set out in 2001 to create a project that would further solidify their niche in Hip Hop. Their new album Expansion Team is indicative of the ‘family’ mindset that holds Dilated together. Rakaa is succinct in his description of the new songs. "Basically, just like The Platform, the overall theme is just expression. I guess that’s a very loose thing, but it’s something that’s very important to us. Expansion Team is Dilated Peoples and people that are definitely open people – it’s just stretching the game out a little bit."

    Guest appearances on Expansion Team include The Alchemist, DJ Premier, ?uestlove, Da Beatminerz, JuJu of the Beatnuts, Black Thought, Joey Chavez, Metis Cole, and Likwit crew members Defari, Phil Da Agony and Tha Liks. All of the combinations come together with continuity and strength, and the production skills of the Dilated crew tie each string of beats into the perfect bow. Babu is adamant that for their collaborations, a handshake is better than ink. "Everybody we got to work with was an honest collabo," he says. "We picked these people out of purely having respect for their art, and somehow meshing their style with ours."

The confidence that Evidence conveys in his feelings about Expansion Team is concrete. "The best part about this record to me is that we established our sound. Our original intention for this album was to record it all in one place, and mix it with one engineer to keep it real exact and right. Due to our touring schedule and where the producers live, it just wasn’t possible, so we had to do it the way we didn’t want to – recording it anywhere we could, all over the fucking country under different circumstances – and we pulled it off. That’s one thing I’m really proud of in our group – we don’t have to be in one place." He also contends that regardless of who worked on the track, Dilated had a hands-on approach to the album. "Even if I’m not producing a track I’m there from beginning to end. We all created a group involvement in the procedure."

    "It was just a good experience across the board," says Rakaa. "Probably the craziest thing was going out to New York for a couple weeks and locking down most of the D&D [studios] – we had two or three people working on songs at the same time, so we were running back and forth between rooms – we were out there making the most of our time and having a blast." While in New York, tracks with Da Beatminerz, Juju, Premier and Alchemist were recorded. Babu speaks with enthusiasm about their time in the Big Apple. "Working with Alchemist is always a dope experience. He brings the best out of us always. It was our first time working with Da Beatminerz, that was my funnest experience working with all these new producers. I feel like fam now with a lot of these guys, going through the creative process. We’ve known each other’s work from before, but being locked in the studio with them after coordinating the songs was a really great way to get to know these cats. Evil D and Walt – those are like our brothers now. They gave us one of my favorite songs on the album "Trade Money". Working with Premier was the shit to me. We collabed on the cuts – he’s a real hands on producer – he’s up in there coaching everybody on their rhymes. He’s a dope motivator."

    Although some newer fans to Dilated Peoples may be surprised at the collaboration with DJ Premier, Rakaa is quick to let people know that the arrangement was not a fluke. "We didn’t cold call Premier – we toured with Rage Against The Machine and Gangstarr before. We are definitely fans of his music and his production. He expressed to us that he was definitely feeling our music for years, we hear him rock our twelve inches in his mix shows when he’s at the clubs. To work with him was a great experience, but it was also comfortable."

    Roots crew members Black Thought and ?uestlove appear on separate tracks on Expansion Team. "Working with Black Thought - that was ridiculous," says Babu. "He’s part of our Okayplayer family – so it’s special love obviously. He’s one of my favorite emcees, and he’s one of those emcees that whatever he spits on he makes the track sound that much better. He came in, grabbed a blank pad of paper and a pen, wrote for two and a half hours straight, kicked [the beat] one time and was done in five or ten minutes. Strictly professional." Rakaa debuts the recorded version of his poetic interlude "War" with a drum track orchestrated by the Soulquarian percussionist ?uestlove. Although they did not record in the studio together, the magic of ?uestlove’s battle cadence and Rakaa’s musings is fully captured. "The song is inspired by the different conflict that I see," explains Rakaa. "The fight for peace is a war in itself, and it’s just a crazy circle of life. It draws upon different representations of war that have been a part of my consciousness."

    Working with longtime friends Tha Liks was memorable for all three group members. Evidence glows with respect for the mighty Likwit crew, and speaks highly of their willingness to share the creative spotlight. "I consider them veterans. Those are the people I looked up to coming up in this L.A. scene when we didn’t have a deal. They showed a lot of love for us, and they continue to. On our first album we had a song with the Alkaholiks called "Right On", and most of the reviews or comments I got from people were ‘yeah that’s a dope song, but it sounds more like Dilated featured on an Alkaholiks record’, so this time we just wanted to do it Dilated style."

In addition to touring to promote their album in the United States, Dilated was asked to do a two-week tour in Europe with Linkin Park in September. "Mike from Linkin Park called me and extended the offer," says Rakaa. "They didn’t have to, but they did - they are fans of our music. I thought it was a real cool thing to get out there and rock with new people – also, quiet as it’s kept, get into these places so we can work with the real hardcore headz too. Linkin Park are cool cats."
Rakaa understands the difficulties of being a new emcee trying to break into the scene, and kindly offers words of advice to aspiring artists. "Study the rules to any game you play. Go back and listen to what people are saying. This is a cold game out here that you’re playing, so be prepared for that. Most importantly take the time to develop sensitivity. You need sensitivity to feel momentum – to know when it’s time to explode and when it’s time to rest up. Figure out a way to make what you want to do translate, then work on a way to building bridges between that and people."

With bridges allowing their streams of consciousness to flow, Dilated Peoples allow their fans to meet them halfway without having to cross over to a single side. As Rakaa, Evidence and Babu look squarely into their future with clarity, they can most assuredly visualize the shape of things to come. Dilated is to grow, and the Dilated crew are people of expansion – growing in the culture and carrying on the legacy of the Hip Hop nation.

Dove
~Sheepish Lordess of Chaos~
Courtesy of Elemental Magazine

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