WUSL Power 99 – Radioactive with Colby Colb
Friday 30 October 1992 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stretch, Majesty and K-Low joined Colby Colb in the studio at WUSL Power 99 for an interview on his Radioactive programme. The conversation looks back at how the group first connected with Ed Lover at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, several years before he began promoting them on Yo! MTV Raps and helping bring them to Tommy Boy Records.
The group discuss the Heartless video and its connection to the planned Game Of Survival movie and album, explaining the story of a young boy whose life changes after he discovers his parents have been murdered. The programme plays the Heartless radio remix and the Murderahh radio remix.
Stretch also reveals that Live Squad had completed approximately six tracks for a forthcoming 2Pac album, and mentions other production work involving Taz and E-Moneybags. The interview closes with discussion of a possible appearance on the Hit Squad tour, which was still uncertain at the time.
Interview Transcript
The transcript is presented in reading order. Speaker abbreviations are retained as they appear in the supplied transcription.
CCYeah that’s right, this is Colby Colb and I’m in the studio with a bunch of brothers that’s so live the name of the group is the “Live Squad”. Whatsup fellas?
LSWhat’s up Colb?
CCWhat’s going on. You gotta come closer to the mics and kick it, you know what I mean?
MAJYeah yeah, whatsup Philly? What’s the deal?
CCWhy don’t y’all introduce yourselves?
KLI’m the Almighty K-Low
MAJBig Umajesty
BSYeah Stretch of tha Squad
CCWhat’s up y’all? Now why is it called “The Live Squad”?
MAJWe’re a bunch of live brothas who’s rolling with the squad. Know what I’m saying?
KLWord up!
CCOh ok, So explain to me. I met you guys in Atlanta at Jack tha Rapper and you was telling me down there a little bit about how you came together but explain to the people how did you come together and how you got your deal and everything.
BSAlright, so yo, we got our deal like this, it was like, we knew Ed Lover at Yo! MTV Raps and he was like a security guard in the high school round our way in Andrew Jackson, and we hit him with a tape and he was like “Yo!”
CCHe was a security guard?
BSYeah!
CCHow long ago was this?
BSHow many years ago? About three, four years ago.
MAJAbout 88/89.
BSYeah, 89.
MAJLet me inside the door. Inside door all the day. I Ain't say that.
CCWhat high school was this?
BSOh, Andrew Jackson in Queens.
CCOh, okay, A.J. That's where Russell Simmons went, right?
BSYeah, RUN, all of them.
MAJEverybody. Me, my brother, everybody.
KLAndrew Jackson was like a zone school, you know?
CCSo you was giving him tapes?
BSYeah, we hit him with a tape and he was like, yo, it’s fat, fat, yo, I'm gonna get you a tip.
CCBut he wasn't on TV then, what I'm saying?
BSYeah, he just was. He used to just talk all the time . Yo, he getting hookup. Hookup. Then one day we turn on the TV and we seen him on MTV. It's like, yo, Ed gonna look out. Ed gonna look out.
CCCuz I remember it was a couple months ago, it was actually last summer, and Ed Lover was down here, you was with him and he was like, yo, this new group coming Out Live Squad, you gotta check them out and he was bringing me over, said, yo, check em out on Tommy Boy. I was like, well, when is it coming out, man? When is it coming out?
BSWord up.
CCYou got your videos out, your Heartless video. And that's like. It looks like it's actually. You're doing like a long form video.
MAJHeartless is the soundtrack to our movie Game of Survival.
CCLet's check it out. I got the brand new remix of Heartless right here. So we gonna check this out right now, and then we'll come back and talk about Heartless the, the what is it? The motion picture?
MAJGame of Survival game the movie
CCThe Game of survival. Cause I thought you guys had, I thought this was like a movie coming out, the original soundtrack. I don't know, I was waiting for the movie. Cause it looks so real. But let's check this.
This is the Live Squad. This is Heartless, the remix. Heartless. Right here. Power 99.
This is the Live Squad. This is Heartless, the remix. Heartless. Right here. Power 99.
BSWord Up.
[PLAYS HEARTLESS RADIO REMIX]
CCThere you go. Heartless, the remix version. And now, now explain the video to me or the concept of the long form video that you guys are doing.
BSOkay, it's like this. It's this little kid, you know, he's a good kid, you know what I'm saying. When he growing up, you know, with his moms and pops doing good in school, all that. Then one day he comes home, you know what I'm saying? He gets his report card, he's got fat A's and all that, he's ready to show his mom and them, he happy, and he run home and he see ambulance and police and all that in front of his crib. So he like, yo, what's up? And he run up and they like, yo, your mother and father's dead. Like flipped his head out, turned him heartless, you know what I'm saying? And from then on he just grew up buck wild.
MAJAnd the game of Survival just shows his whole life.
CCRight? He became a hitman, right? Yeah, yeah.
KLHe like turns to a brutal. A brutal hitman.
BSThen he turns a hit, he ain't taking no short.
KLTurns into a murderer, then he turns into a hitman.
CCNow, now you're gonna be doing the, the whole, the other rest of the videos are gonna be based around this guy or?
BSYeah, around. The same guy from Heartless.
CCOkay, so this is gonna actually Heartless is the end of it then? Because then he get killed.
LSYeah.
BSSee, what it is, is we put all the elements from the movie into Heartless, so you know but it's. But, but in the movie you like stretched it out, got more.
CCThat's like the first time anybody has ever done this in hip hop. Because when I, because I'm When I got the stuff in the mail, I said, what is this, a movie? You know, I'm sitting there waiting for the TV, you know, to say, coming soon to a theatre near you. It's fat. They should actually show that before movies. Like a little mini something.
BSYeah.
CCAll right, so that, that sounds pretty cool. So do you guys have an album coming along with this? What's the name of the album. The album is Game of Survival. Okay, and when is that coming out?
BSAnd that's. It's to be scheduled, I think. I think January.
CCOkay.
BSYeah, we gonna work with Heartless. We might drop another single before we drop the album. We're not sure, though.
CCAll right, well, well right now we're gonna check out Murderahh now. Now, this is another., there's another video for this, too, right?
BSYeah.
CCLet's check this out. This is the Live Squad. This is Murderer right here. Radioactive on Power 99.
[PLAYS MURDERAHH RADIO REMIX]
CCMurderer on the one and two. There you go. The Live Squad. These brothers are so live. I mean, I even like your little, your little logo with the, with the, is that, that's the back of a bullet, right? That's kind of fly. Live Squad.
BSGame of Survival. Game of Survival.
CCAnd all you guys are from Queens, Is that it?
BSYeah, Jamaica, Queens.
CCOkay. Definitely in full effect.
BSWord up
CCMan. So the Live Squad is definitely happening right here.
BSOh, yeah. We got some other projects coming up. We did, like, six tracks for Tupac, new album.
CCOkay, So you're into producing other artists?
BSYeah.
CCOkay. Anybody else you're producing?
BSWe got our girl named Taz, some RnB hip hop flavors, she’s mad and E-Moneybags. Word up. Five Gs.
CCAre you guys gonna be going on a tour? A promotional tour? Y'all on a promotional tour now, but are you gonna go, like, on a go touring with other groups somewhere?
CCYeah. Hopefully we get a couple dates on this Hit Squad tour that might go into effect, I'm not sure, but hopefully we can get down.
CCAll right, well, the Live Squad. Thanks, fellas, for coming by. I mean, I've been hearing about you for the longest time. Wait till I see Ed. I'mma tease him about me. I didn't know he was a security guard in the school. But he hit the big time, though.
MAJHe can't follow me no more.
CCAre you, are you in his movie? They're doing a movie, are you in it?
BSYeah, yeah, yeah. He out on the road with Kris Kross right now, hosting all his shows. So he only comes home, like, on Wednesdays. Cause they tape every Thursday and he leaves Friday night, so I hardly see that Kid.
CCOkay, well, yeah, well, the next time I see him, I'm gonna get him on that, on that security guard thing. I didn't know that.
BSYeah.
CCCause you all, because you were with him a couple. a couple times I saw him, like a couple times in New York, I saw him you was with him and then like, like in Atlanta you was with him, and then that time he came here and he was, you know, he was definitely promoting you.
BSYeah.
CCAnd he kept telling everybody because a lot of people was asking, what's up with this Live squad? When is this coming out? And then it just dropped, just like that. So, yo, I wish you all the success. Thanks for coming by Radioactive, and tell me, what's your favorite radio station?
BSPower 99 in full effect. My man Colby Colb, boy!