MC Ren

Originally published: September 2004

What's been up with the Villain these days? You're filming a new movie at the moment?

Well, I got it filmed already, it's ready to go. It's comin' out on Image films. It will be out next month, November. It's called "Lost in the Game." I did it like two years ago, it's just now comin' out. Everythang did, we just tightening up some loose paperwork. Everything did though.

What exactly is this film about, what's the plot?

It's about this cat, tryin' to bring out this little artist independent. So he goes to these record companies and everythang. He go to this company called Bullshit Records, they keep bullshittin' him. He say, fuck the record companies, and he try to borrow the money from me. My character is like a little shot caller or whatever. So he come to me for the money and he start trickin' off the money on dope, broads, and all of that. Then he get dealt with in the end. Little Hood flick.

So what can you tell us about your new company Villain Entertainment?

It's at the ground level right now. Tryin' to put that out there, see what happens with that. I'll probably throw some artists on there, some films. It ain't nothing to major right now, but It'll be major in a minute.

So it's an all around company, movies and music?

Yeah all around thing.

Why haven't you been as active in the rap game? Are there any plans at all for a solo album?

Nah, really right now, I ain't been doing no music, man. I been trying to work on this little movie project, and laying back off the music for a while. The game is kinda garbage right now. Ain't nothin inspiring me to do nothin. You gotta look at the point, I been doing it for so long, since like the 80's. Back when I was doing it then it was like real inspiring, you had all these artists out. Back then it was just inspiring. Now it ain't even like that. I done did it so long it's like I seen people come and go. I seen styles change, music change. Ain't nothin really inspiring me. I just been kinda away from that right now.

So what's your working relationship with Paris now?

Me and him talked the other day, we still cool and everything. It's just that I changed my mind at the last minute. We was about to do that, I changed my mind. But everything cool. It was like, I don't have no plans to do no solo albums, but as far as little features on other people's records.. He got this record, I believe its called "Guerilla Soldiers" a compilation. I did something with him on that, that will be out probably the beginning of next year. So as far as that goes, I'll do little things like that depending on how the project is, what direction they tryin' to go. As far as the album thing goes, at the last minute I was like "Nah, I changed my mind on that."

Are there any projects you will be appearing on, anyone you've worked with recently?

Last thing I did was with Paris, that was like 4 months ago. People been calling me man, to do all kinds of projects. I been turning them down, cause everybody out here tryin' to do the same ole thang. It's like a lot of dudes been callin' me ain't got no kinda skills. Fools that work at labels been calling me want me to bust on they artist records and they just doing the same thing I did years and years ago. So its like, I be passing on a lot of it. I ain't trying to do that. How I am right now man, if you ain't talkin' about nothin' on your record, I ain't doing it. I ain't fittin' to do no same ole, same ole gangsta gangsta records and shit. I ain't even doing that.

Don't you think that the game needs a breath of fresh air, and releasing a solo album would give it that?

If I wanted to do a solo album, I could do somethin' like that. If you wanna do something real big, you gotta be with a company that got the money to back it so big, know what I'm sayin? Push it so big. You gotta be with a big company that gotta have it global, have it everywhere. The politics with dealing with them type of companies, I'm fed up with trying to deal with them. I can't even sit down with them and talk to them because they be on something else, and I'll be on this page. And then I'll put together a tight album and they might come at me like, we don't wanna put this, or you need to change this, or you need to have this people on the songs, and I ain't got time for that. If it was up to be I'd do a solo album and it would just be me. Just me all the way through. But how companies is today, they wanna try and dictate. Tell you who to throw on there, who the producers is, you know I ain't with all of that. Politics kinda keep you away from it all.

So you're just pretty much focusing movies at the moment?

Yeah, you know. And I'll put a little cuts with the movies, I got a little EP soundtrack I'm giving away with the movie. As far as it goes like that, I'll do a little independent film, I'll put some music on that, and that'll be it. But as far as tryin' to sit down and try to negotiate with all these big companies, I ain't fittin to do all of that. I ain't tryin to have nobody try and tell me how to do that.

Will the soundtrack EP be all solo songs by yourself?

I got like 3 from me, and like 3 or 4 from some other cats, some new cats. It's cool, its like a 7 song EP. The ones I got on there is bangin' though.

Do you plan to put out any new artist through your new company?

I got this cat named Big Rock, I'mma probably try to put that out. But he still in the stage of tryin' to get his album together and all that, so it's like, he can't just give me the album. We gotta go over it, pick the hot ones. Then he gotta go back in the lab. He just workin' on it, cause it gotta be tight. I don't wanna just put anything out..

These movies, do you write and direct them all by yourself?

Yeah, this first one, I wrote it. Me and my homeboy, named Playboy T, me and him directed. We did everything. The whole nine. It's only like an hour long, it's like a short film. We got plans to do longer ones, shoot 'em in better quality and all of that. So this first one is just like a test. We just testin' the waters right quick.

So based off this you will drop some more. Are you currently writing any new ones, or coming up with concepts for them?

Yeah, I got a couple of 'em wrote. I'm just trying to tweak the stories on 'em. Before we start doing 'em. We about to start doing another one in a minute. I'm tryin' to get into them movies man. Movie money way higher then that music money. There's longevity in the movies so I'm trying to get my hand in that. Even in the future if I don't star in a movie, I still want to produce them and put them out, with other people in 'em. Just have my hand involved in all of that.

You maybe see yourself going porn route like your NWA affiliate Yella? [laughs]

Nah I ain't doing porn. Matter of fact, Playboy T, that's Yella cousin. They be doing they thing with that. But I ain't tryin to do that, I ain't trying to shoot no porns. If I wanted to do that I coulda been did that. Shot a million of those. I'm tryin' to shoot like films.

What are your thoughts on new West Coast rappers like The Game and Guerilla Black?

Yeah, I like Game. He hot, he got a little buzz behind him and everything. He be giving it up. I like Game, when he came out, the West was starting back to shine again. Cause at one time nobody was even thinkin' about the West coast. Game is out here puttin' it down. Big ups to Game.

Do you think Dr. Dre is doing a good job running Aftermath?

[laughs] Yeah, look at the record sales. Look what he's doing... Just look at Eminem, he on his record label. He movin' big units. So, he doing his thing man. You gotta look at too, he been in the game so long, making music, rhyming, so now he can kick back, he don't even have to rhyme no more, really don't even have to do no beats no more, he can just run his company. He got the best ear for music, so he gon' pick..if he grab up an artist, they gon' be hot, cause he always had the hottest ear for music. So he doing his thing man.

What are your thoughts on the situation with Eminem that happened a while back, involving the racist comments towards Blacks he made on an old song he recorded in his teen years?

When I heard about it I was kinda burnt out about it. But you know, the public they gon' choose what they want. Evidently they still love him, he said it was a mistake and all of that. I would be different, I would probly be mad if he made records now talkin' about black people, but I haven't even heard the song he did. I ain't heard it, and his new music he don't say nothin' about black people. You listen to his music, he love black people. He doing black people music. So that's on him, I can't really comment on it cause I ain't heard the song, where they talkin' about he said somethin. Cause I know how people can twist words. You can be rhyming, and people take rhymes how they wanna take rhymes. Like you can say something, one person will say "man did you hear this and that, did you hear how he said that?" Cause I done did a gang of records, I'm just rhyming, and people saying, "Oh he talkin' about this person" you know what I'm saying? I don't know man, that's a hard one for me to answer.

Have you been keeping steady contact with Dre?

Nah, I ain't holla'd at Dre since Up in Smoke tour. That was like 2000.

So do you think we will ever see the NWA reunion album?

Nah, I don't see that happening. Everybody always ask me that. I don't see it happening. Matter of fact, it's somebody runnin' around right now, I heard, trying to get us all together to do that. From Virgin Records or somethin, they goin' out grabbin' fools, lookin' for everybody, but I don't see it happen. I don't even wait for it to happen. If it didn't happen then in 2000 when we was all together, the whole plan when we was on the tour. We had a studio and everything, we was suppose to start workin' on it then. If it didn't happen then, it ain't gonna happen now. It ain't like I'm holdin' my breath waitin' for it to happen. I mean, we did a gang of records in the past, that was it. I don't see it happening.

What do you think about beef in the West Coast? For example just recently we got The Game and Yukmouth going back and forth with disses. Do you think it helps bring attention, or does it divide the fans and hurt in the long run?

Hip hop man, there's been beef ever since it started. As long as you keep it on a record it speaks for itself. if Game diss Yuk, and if Yuk diss Game, whoever got the hottest record gonna win, bottom line. A lot of times fools now wanna take if off the record and try to be physical. Only reason people would start being physical is 'cause they lost with the record. So as long as it stay on wax it's cool. At the end of the day, probably next year, or the year after that, they will come together, break bread, and be cool about it. Just like LL, Koo Moe Dee, all the beefs. Time heal all wounds, everybody will sit down, break bread, whatever. You can't have hip hop without beef, but you gotta keep it on record. Cause you keep it on records, that's what it is. Keep it in the ring, keep it on a record. Once it start going off the records, you just mess up your own career. Why jeopardize your career over a record. You be mad, you wanna go shoot a fool over a record. Just retaliate back with lyrics, how Nas and Jay-Z did.

Make it more interesting. When you do it, it gotta be tight, it's like, everybody wanna beef, cause they see Nas, Jay-Z, everybody else beefin. But you gotta be tight when you beef or it's just gonna be garbage, if you garbage, and beef, then ain't nobody really gon' care. Keep it on records man, and that that will be part of your legacy when you over with and done. Just keep it on records man and do it like that, real MC. If you beef off records, then people shouldn't make records, they can just go handle they business they ain't gotta tell nobody what they gon' do. If you gonna do something, just go do it. You ain't gotta broadcast it. but a lot of times fools get on record, tell everybody what they gon' do to this person and all that for publicity, man if you make a hot record the publicity gonna come anyway. You ain't gotta talk about what you gonna do to him off record. Just bust lyrics!

Would you consider collaborating with Ice Cube, but in a movie sense?

Oh yeah. If it came down to it, yeah fa sho. Cube the man with them movies, if it came down to it and he was like "Ren, get on this movie with me." I'm right there. I ain't holla'd at him in a minute. But whenever I see him it's all good with me and Cube.

Some of the fans were wondering this. Were you one of the original people, with Dre on the "California Love" song, from 2Pac's All Eyez On me?

Nah, I believe it was Cube and Dre.


Word Association

Rap game

Shitty.

George W. Bush

Devil.

Suge Knight

Power.

Hollywood

Garbage.

Dr. Dre

Super producer. Best producer ever.

NWA

Legendary group.

The Game

Tight.

Bay Area

Pimpin. Big pimpin.

Studio Gangstas

Wack lyricists.

Egypt

Been there in 95. It was bomb. It was super tight. I went and traveled down the Nile, went all the way from Cairo to Aswan. Across the Nile, went everywhere up in there. Peaceful, zero crime rate. A lot of fools can't even imagine what a zero crime rate is. And hot. Alot of flies [laughs] It was peaceful. I was out there for like 2 and half weeks.

Any last words you wanna say to the fans?

I wanna tell everybody my name ain't MC Ren nomore. It's Darth Ren, like Darth Vader. Don't call me MC Ren no more its Darth Ren now. [laughs] Whenever I do come back it's gonna be outta here.

So when can we expect the "Lost in The Game" movie?

Look for it next month, or early November. They settin' up, they gotta start settin' it up with ads and all of that. So look for it in October and November. Soundtrack comes free with it.