At the Cleveland Agora show, I had the chance to sit down and get some questions in for DJ Clay and Big Hoodoo. In this interview, a couple of interesting tidbits were brought up, including:

• A new release by Clay
• Discussion of Violent J on Crystal Skull
• Doe Dubbla to Big Hoodoo change
• and MORE

You can read the interview below, or listen to the audio as well! In the text below, I cleaned up a little bit for easier reading, so enjoy!

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/jJa-dKJ-r2U[/youtube]

FLH: What inspired you to change from Doe Dubble to Big Hoodoo?

Hoodoo: The fact that, I have been studying black magic and the things that I do now, for awhile. I just did not know there was a place for it. Where I’m from, Detroit, not everybody is interested in that kind of stuff. So I rapped about stuff I knew about from the hood, that I figured people wanted to hear where I was from. Once I got involved in the situation I am now, it just kind of flourished and blossomed from where it was to what you see on stage every time you see me or what you hear on the album.

FLH: What was your main idea behind A World Upside Down? What inspired you to make that mixtape? Its a drastic change from Let ‘em Bleed and Book of the Wicked.

Clay: You answered part of the question right there. The whole goal was a drastic change, something different. And since it was so different, it was like flipping everything around, a world upside down. The title itself. Got it crackin’ like that, a mixture of everything, just like, gotta get it in, let’s do this, let’s do it, something different, something new. Its craziness.

FLH: Being the newest entity at Psychopathic, what challenges have you faced as Big Hoodoo?

Hoodoo: There haven’t been any.

FLH: Obviously you did a good producing job on A World Upside Down, but as many have noticed, there are no solo tracks. Was that intentional?

Clay: It was intentional. I stirred up. Craziness. Unexpected shit. A lot of people wanna hear a rap album, or a rap EP, from me, solo style, so I’ll save all that for that.

FLH: A lot of people wanna know, what actual input did Violent J have on Crystal Skull?

Hoodoo: His input was more or less, like, help. Or guidance. With some of the ways or directions that I wanted to make, like, hooks and things like that. But besides helping me a little bit with the hooks here and there as far as the vocals on them and maybe a few words into hooks to make them real big and real strong hooks. Other than that, nothing really. He was just there for the whole process, telling me everything was “dope.” That’s about how much help he did, like when I needed him to help me with some background vocals, and I like, not like, but I really love, the mesh between his voice and mine on a hook track. Its gothic, man. It gives something special to it, the tracks he helped me with, as far as, maybe laying his voice behind my vocals on a hook or something. But I heard there was some speculation on doing some writing or whatever, anything like that. But anyone that knows me or knows where I’m from or knows my history about my music, I write all my shit. I’ve been freestyling forever and writing forever and I’ve been doing this shit since, you know, Eminem and Proof and D12 runnin’ the streets. Since Awesome Dre, when I was little, watching him do his shit. I’ve been rappin’ forever. So it was just a mesh of two beautiful minds to help create something that is magical, which is what you hear in Crystal Skull. Other than his influence being a “Fuck yeah!” when I drop something down, that may have been about it. But I know there’s a lot of speculation, and I hope that ends all the speculation. But he’s just like my big brother, man. He helps me in the best way possible and whatever you wanna take from that or whatever you wanna feel from that, that’s totally up to the listeners, that’s totally up to you. And fuckin’, to me, I look at it as a credit to what I do. Because if anyone thinks that the creator of all that they love and hold so passionate to their hearts wrote anything that I have on my album that I wrote, then that’s a testament to me. He’s like, a 2pac, or a Biggie, to everyone. To all the Juggalos and everybody loves and that holds this shit passionate to their hearts. So if you think he wrote any of the words I said? Then that means I’m the shit too! So I mean, its all good, either way, flat the fuck out! Shoutout to ICP, big bro I love you.

FLH: We discussed this before, but do you plan on doing a sequel to A World Upside Down?

Clay: I like to keep everybody guessing on that shit. Is it either gonna be another one, a new title, maybe even Let ‘em Bleed 5?

FLH: Are you working on any new material right now?

Hoodoo: Yeah I’ve got some new shit comin’ out, I can’t even release the dates or talk about it right now. I do want you to pick up that new Axe Murder Boyz, I’m on there. Their fuckin’ album is ruthless, its fire, its their best one to date. I love all of their shit, their like my brothers, so go pick that shit up, support my dudes, Axe Murder Boyz. Dark Lotus is comin’ out, that shit is above and beyond stellar, its ruthless, its what y’all been waitin’ for. Shoutout to all my brothers that are on that, go pick that Dark Lotus up. Fuckin’ ABK is droppin’ a new one, his shit is not done yet, so I can’t say all of it is ruthless, but what I’ve heard so far, is out cold. That’s my dude, I love him to death, he’s been a big help to me since joining the label. Go pickup that shit when it comes out. Support Psychopathic man, we’re here for y’all. We love that you’re here for us, that’s why we do it for y’all, every day when we wake up to when we goto sleep, and get back up and do it all over again. Psychopathic the wicked shit will never die.

FLH: After this tour, do you have any other tours planned?

Clay: Like I said earlier man, it’s a record tour, record tour. It’s the life we live, the way we do. Like Hoodoo said, Psychopathic one hundred percent all the way.

Websites:

DJ-Clay.com

BigHoodoo.com

PsychopathicRecords.com