Interview with Crooked of the Darkroom Familia

Interview with Crooked of the Darkroom Familia

This is what the title says, an interview with the Darkroom Familia member named Crooked. This interview took place over the weekend of June 23rd to June 25th:

  • Boomin' Words From Portsmouth: 1. Who are the core rappers of DRF?
    Crooked: The first thing that I wanna let people know is that we have been doing this since 1988-over 12 years now. A lot of people think that we're new to the rap game or that our first CD was Penitentiary Chances. Well, Duke and Me put out our first tape in 1988. It was a black and white maxi-single that was shrinkwrapped with a hair dryer. We would go all over the Bay Area and sell our tapes out of a backpack at malls and wherever there were homeboys around. We're from Hayward, Ca and Oakland is only five minutes away. San Francisco is right over the bridge. So we would go to every independent record store that we knew of in the Bay Area. We'd go to T's Wauzi in Eastmont Mall and Durant Square in Oakland. We would go to Stop, Look & Listen in Fremont and stores like that. If you were a rapper in the Bay Area-those were some of the places you would go to sell your shit. Anyway, at the same time in Tracy, Ca, Sir Syno was pretty much doing the same thing with his group-G.U.N, in the Central Valley. We started performing at shows, car shows and shit. And that's how we met Dyno. That was in 90'. We hooked up and started the Darkroom in 93'. Me(Crooked), Duke, Sir Dyno-We started the Darkroom along with Dee-Roll. He's from the Acorn projects in West Oakland, Ca. If you have our older CDs, you'll remember his name. Unfortunately, Dee-Roll quit rapping and moved away. But Duke, Dyno and Me are still holding down the fort. Darkroom has always and will always be the founding members. Then there's a few rappers who've been with us since we started Darkroom. Oso is one of those rappers. DjMT is another. Other homeboys down with us are Dub, the newer, youger homeboys-J-Loc and Sapo, A.L.G-he's also in LowDown. And Despite what some people believe, LowDown is still with us. As a matter of fact, Never and Lil Wyno are on the new Darkroom album-HOMICIDE KINGS. On a track titled "STILL DARKROOM"-that's for the non-believers. Even though they stayed with that other label, they're still down with us.

  • BWFP: 2. How many cds has DRF released in total? (including solo cds)
    Crooked: Honestly, I lost count. Over 44 guaranteed. We don't even have some of our older shit. I don't even have a copy of our first tape. This year alone we've released damn near 14 albums-solos and group albums combined.

  • BWFP: 3. How do you feel about DogDay records since the departure?
    Crooked: I feel great. I wanna make this perfectly clear-WE left THEM. They BEGGED us not to leave. They offered us $40,000 for our latest movie BLOOD & TEARS, we told 'em to fuck off! And we kept our movie. DogGay ain't nothin to us. We've been putting out albums BEFORE and AFTER them. We kept their lights on. I put that on anything. NO other group that they've had has ever put out as many albums as we have in one year. Who else makes movies? Only a few. We made them-they didn't make us. Us leaving them hasn't hurt us one bit. We just cut out the middle man and now we make all the money ourselves.
    DogGay is a bullshit label. The two crooks who run that label are fuckin phonies. They are nothin but a big front. They keep a PO BOX in Oakland, but they have their office in beautiful Emeryville. They try to look like this down ass label, but the truth is that they're these old white people who don't know dick about rap. One of them is an ex-punk rocker and the other one is an ex-mail clerk. The only rap knowledge they have is 'cause they used to work with this underground rap one-stop in Oakland. But they really don't know what's going on in this rap game. Damn near EVERY artist has left them. D-NUT, U.D.I., Closed Caption, Funk Daddy, Crooked Path, Million Dollar Dream, Shay Deffa, Andre (Dre Dog) Nickatina, Herm, Darkoom, U.N.L.V., and that's just off the top of my head-there's more.

  • BWFP: 4. Are you still down with Never and Lowdown, since they is signed to DogDay?
    Crooked: Most definitely. LowDown is still down with Darkroom. I got nothin but love for LowDown and DjMT. We left, they chose to stay. If DogGay is treating them good, then that's all that matters. LowDown has been in this rap game for many years. They deserve much props for everything they've done. I can't be mad at that. Who am I to tell them what to do? We're all homies and that ain't gonna change.

  • BWFP: 5. Though your new fans may or may not know, there have been earlier DRF projects such as "Players 4 Life" and "Guns" by The Deadly Game Clique. Who were the members and when were the cds released?
    Crooked: PFL-MAJOR GAME is a compilation. There are many artists on that. Me, Duke, Dyno, Dee-Roll, Young Ant, Down-N-Dirty and a bunch of others. I think it came out in 95'. Deadly Game Clique-PROPOSITIONS is another compilation, My boy-DUB did that one. It's on his label-Federal Recordz, but it has DRF artists on it. I think it came out in 97' or 98'.

  • BWFP: 6. Are there any plans to re-release any really old stuff from the early days of Darkroom?
    Crooked: Yes. We have released a CD called ENTER THE DARKROOM-89'-95'. It's a collection of songs from various DRF albums from 1989-1995. Also, we're planning on doing a volume 2 of that and we're also re-releasing Duke's first solo TO LIVE AND DIE IN THE BAY, re-mastered and featuring some new songs. That one comes out in July. Also, Dyno's other solo albums BROWN PERSUASION and LOCOTE. We'll probably combine the two albums together. Be on the lookout.

  • BWFP: 7. Are there any new DRF members who we haven't heard from yet and are there plans for them to release some cds?
    Crooked: The newest members are J-Loc and Lil Sapo. J-Loc already released his first solo. It is called "The Criminal Element." He's working on his next one right now. It's almost done and so far, it's TIGHT. They were both featured on a few compilations that we did. The BROWN AREA and THE BROWN AREA-CALIFORNIA LATINS. They're the youngsters of Darkroom. They're gonna be dope over the years. They are both also featured on the new Darkroom album HOMICIDE KINGS.

  • BWFP: 8. Have any members ever been kicked out of DRF?
    Crooked: Yes. The ones that aren't here are the ones that weren't putting any effort into this rap shit. Me, Duke and Dyno have put in work for over 12 years. We do EVERYTHING for our label-DARKROOM STUDIOS. We do ALL the footwork. We have our own studios, our own engineers, our own photographers, our own graphic designers, our own writers, directors, producers, rappers, filmmakers, We maintain our own website, etc,. Those guys are US. We do it all. These other guys think they're just gonna come in and make G's....and that's just not gonna happen. They don't understand that you have to PAY DUES....you have to EARN what you get. They just sat back and expected to get paid fat, but they didn't wanna put any of the footwork in. Ya know what I mean? A couple of them let the little fame that they got go to their heads and they thought they were the best MCs to ever touch a microphone. And that was their downfall. The ones who stayed and kept puttin in work and paying dues-now, they're getting paid fat. The ones that thought they were the shit and didn't wanna do shit-they're slangin' beef jerky at liquor stores or sitting on their asses and doing nothing. Like I said, since 88' and we're now finally making some money. This rap shit is a business, a very HARD business. You can't just jump in it and become a millionaire over-night. That's a 1 in a million chance that that's gonna happen. Ya know? For every Eminem, for every Snoop Dogg, there is a million rappers just like them who've put in work and continue to put in work, that don't have shit to show for it. This is all SHOW BUSINESS.

  • BWFP: 9. Is DRF still accepting new members?
    Crooked: We always accept demos and shit. We're always makin those BROWN AREA compilations. So, if you're tight-send us a tape. PO BOX 56000 Hayward, Ca 94545.

  • BWFP: 10. Are there any plans to sign with a major recording company?
    Crooked: Right now, we're making a living off of our music and movies and we'll continue to. If a major comes at us with a good contract then you never know what can happen.

  • BWFP: 11. What other rappers do you think are tight?
    Crooked: Honestly, I don't really listen to too much rap nowadays. There's too many weak ass rappers out. The only shit I bump is the shit that I've always had like: Mac Dre, Too $hort, E-40, Above The Law, Tommy Wright III, shit like that. I can't fuckin stand all the radio bullshit.

  • BWFP: 12. What do you think of other norte�o rappers, such as Woodie?
    Crooked: Woodie is a cool ass homeboy. For real. I'm speaking personally here. He's a good guy. He was on our soundtrack for our movie BLOOD & TEARS. It's all Northern Love.

  • BWFP: 13. Do you plan on working with artists outside of DRF?
    Crooked: We have and we probably will. But we only work with artists that we like, that we can feel. You know what I mean?

  • BWFP: 14. Why were some DRF cds banned and which ones were they?
    Crooked: I can't speak too much on that but we released two CDs that got banned. One was called GangStories and they banned it at every major-chain store in the country. They sell GangStories now, but they banned the other one completely. These pigs out here have a hard-on for us. They have an open-file on us right now. When Dyno was locked up last year, all they did was bring up our CDs and movies in court. DARKROOM had NOTHING to do with Dyno's case, yet they allowed all this bullshit "evidence" into the courtroom. They brought out our lyrics and pictures and shit. They had went to Dyno's pad and they siezed all of the albums of DRF that he had in his house, all of the master recordings, computer discs, artwork for album covers and pictures. They brought all that shit into court with them. When we released those two CDs, there were political groups and mothers protesting our music at several major-chain stores. Them, along with the cops, told the stores that our CDs are gang related and that DARKROOM is a front for a drug cartel. They claim that we're involved in all sorts of illegal activity from drug dealing to gang banging. But they're trippin'. They ain't got shit on us. They ain't got me on no video tape or phone taps. The only dope I sell is these dope CDs.

  • BWFP: 15. Should we be on the lookout for any other Latinos rappers coming up?
    Crooked: Unfortunately, there aren't too many. All the dope ones never get the chance to showcase their talent. That's why were here. The Darkroom Familia is here to show the world that we can't be faded.

  • BWFP: 16. Is a nationwide DRF tour in the works?
    Crooked: I would love that, but we're so damn busy that it's hard to get out and do shit. We do in-store appearances and shit like that every once in a while, but as far as a kind of tour-damn, I don't know. You'll have to keep checking the website. We'll keep people posted.

  • BWFP: 17. How do you feel about being a chicano in a predominantly black industry?
    Crooked: That's just it. Latinos have ALWAYS been in the rap game. Latinos and Blacks started rap TOGETHER. From Tito of the Fearless Four (the first rap group on a major label), to Charlie Chase of Cold Crush Brothers, to Prince Markie Dee of the Fat Boys-there has always been Latinos in rap. We're here to remind fools that. We're Latinos and we don't hide that. I'm a rapper who happens to be brown. We can flow with the best of 'em and there's no denying that. Either you like us or you don't. If you do-COOL-MUCH LOVE, If you don't-COOL-then don't buy us. We have LOTS of fans that love what we do and we wouldn't change for anything. The majority of our fans is Latinos, but we do have several white fans and quite a few black fans. We receive letters and e-mails from all over this country and beyond. We have gotten shit from Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, etc,. When we first got international letters and e-mails, I was trippin' hard. But now, we get love from all over. And it feels good to know that people of all colors and nationalities support and love what you do.

  • BWFP: 18. Do you enjoy watching movies and have you seen any good ones as of late? Also, have you ever seen "Caligula"?
    Crooked: I LOVE movies. I love movies more than music. Me and Duke write/direct/produce ALL of the Darkroom movies. Except that last one, Dyno wrote some of it too. Speaking of which, it's called BLOOD & TEARS. Whenever me and Duke get any free time, we go to the movies or rent movies. That's my shit. Other fools drink and smoke weed, My shit is movies. I have thousands of videos and DVDs. Horror movie are my shit. But I watch damn near everything. I can watch The Return Of The Living Dead and then watch Fast Times At Ridgemont High (Those are my favorites, by the way). I've never seen "Caligula." I just seen Gone in 60 seconds and Mission Impossible 2. 60 Seconds was weak, but Mission Impossible was pretty tight. A lot of comic book action, but it was cool. If you wanna see a dope ass John Woo movie, you should rent THE KILLER or my favorite action movie-another John Woo movie-HARD BOILED. TIGHT AS FUCK! Check 'em out. If you get a chance, catch THE PRICE OF GLORY. It's a boxing movie. It was directed by a Latino and it stars Latinos (WOW). It's a good movie. Every Latino should go out and support that movie.

  • BWFP: 19. How's Duke coming along with hooking up with Alysa Milano?
    Crooked: He doesn't wanna fuck her anymore. Now he wants to fuck Mandy Moore.

  • BWFP: 20. Have any DRF movies ever been in the theaters in California?
    Crooked: No. Muthafuckers don't give Latinos a chance. Only straight-to-video. Our new one comes out in July at video stores everywhere.

  • BWFP: 21. Are there any new cds or movies coming out that we should look for?
    Crooked: Yeah, the new DARKOOM FAMILIA-HOMICIDE KINGS is out now and the new DARKOOM VIDEO-COLLECTION is out too. It's called CONNECTED BY HONOR. Also, my solo-CROOKED:VIOLENCE SOLVES EVERYTHING, DUKE's new solo-DUKE:KILL THEM SLOWLY, Oso's solo-OSO:WHO CAN I TRUST?, BLOOD & TEARS MOVIE, SIR DYNO: WHAT HAVE I BECOME? (coming in July). And we're ALWAYS doin somthing. Check the website.

  • BWFP: 22. Will DRF be releasing any of the clothing, as seen on the inside of some of the cds?
    Crooked: A lot of people ask us that, so I don't know. We're thinking about it. If enough people are interested, then probably yes.

  • BWFP: 23. What does the future hold for DRF?
    Crooked: MONEY! I just wanna do this rap shit till I can't no more and make money. But I'll ALWAYS make movies till I die.

  • BWFP: 24. Is there anything you would like to say in closing to any Darkroom Familia fans?
    Crooked: Yeah. THANKS FOR THE LOVE. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT. KEEP BUMPIN THOSE DRF CDs! Big shot out to the Bay Area and the Central Valley and ALL of Northern Cali. Check us out on the web: www.darkroomfamilia.com E-mail: [email protected]. And a big THANK YOU to the staff at BOOMIN'. Thanks for the support. Much Love.

    Crooked of The Darkroom Familia
    [email protected]

    Thank you very much to Crooked for agreeing to an interview here on Boomin' Words From Portsmouth.

    Now go check out the Darkroom Familia Reviews page right here on Boomin'.

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