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Mitchy Slick talks about his gangs days in San Diego and his new Album - Urban Survival Syndrome Alex Alonso for Street Gangs Magazine December 15, 2006 I had the pleasure of talking with San Diego based rapper Mitchy Slick, for an article I wrote on the formation of the Bloods in Los Angeles for the December 2006 issue of The Source Magazine. Mitch is signed to Muggs' Angeles Records and was heavily involved in gang life during his days in San Diego. Because the article only includes a few quotes from the various persons I spoke to, I transcribed the entire interview and posted it below for your viewing pleasure. Alex Alonso: How did you get involved with rapping and Hip Hop being that you were in San Diego? Mitchy Slick: Actually, San Diego has a long history of underground artists that never seem to make it because we have always been in the shadows of LA, we are backed into the corner of America, we have LA, the west coast monster of as far as the industry goes, and here we are trapped in the corner, and it is real hard to get exposure, homie coming from San Diego and a lot of that has to do with Los Angeles being a predominately Crip city, San Diego is the first and the biggest and the most known Blood City. San Diego is as much of a Blood City as LA is a Crip City. And it has always been that, that type of situation because San Diego cats are cats that haven't felt second to LA, they feel like they are from a big city, whether they know it or not they are really out the loop and we might be behind on a lot of things, but you cant tell a motha fucker from San Diego that. He think he is as crackin as the next motha fucka. The Bloods and Crips got started in LA, but you have to remember that is jail shit as well, San Diego, the Bloods and the Crips are all the little worst mutha fuckas in the beginning, and these are the same motha fuckas that be in jail, but with us being in Southern California, the same little bad niggas that started off being bloods and Crips, are the same niggas that San Diego niggas ended up being in youth authority with and in the penitentiary with so basically San Diego had the Bloods and Crips right after LA had it. AA: Since San Diego has more Bloods hoods than Crip hoods can you tell me a bit about the history of how San Diego has embraced Bloods more so than Crips. MS: When the homies from San Diego went to YA (youth authority) and to the pen, it just so happened that they hooked up with Bloods from LA while they were in there. Before there were Bloods and Crips, the older homies in San Diego were from different hoods, but when they came back to SD they brought that back with them. Mitchy Slick And there was another incident where the big homie from San Diego, Big Red from OPB (O'Farrell Park Banksters) went to YA and got into it with an LA Crip on the yard, who was one of their main Crips, and he beat that Crip down. At first everyone thought Big Red was a Blood, but he wasn't, but everyone on that yard that took notice of what Big Red did and automatically said you are a Blood so that had a big impact on the Blood scene in San Diego back then. But the first Blood hood in San Diego was Brim Hood, there are Bloods, Brims, and Pirus, and there is also Bankster, which is another kind of Blood, but they all break off the Blood tree. My neighborhood (Lincoln Park) is a Blood hood, but it used to be a Piru hood up until around '86, the homies felt that Piru was an LA thing so my hood around '86 changed from their origins as Piru from about '78 or '79 to a Blood hood, but some of the first hoods in San Diego was Piru and Brim. With me coming up as a young cat, I didn't even know about any Bloods and Crip in LA, that how it is in San Diego. AA: A lot of cities across America are starting to adopt the same gang structure as Los Angeles, San Diego and other California cities that have been doing it for over 20 years. How do you feel about many of these newer cities adopting the Bloods and Crips, that some are calling copy cat cities doing on the east coast what has been going on the west coast for years? MS: Well I basically feel that regardless of if you put a color on it or not, neighborhoods and certain cats are going to be with each other and ride with each other, and at the same time they are going to have issues with cats from other blocks too, so whether you put a color on it or not it is the same shit, even back to our origins of having tribes if you live by these trees you are from this tribe, so really I ain't tripping, from my understanding it is mostly a lot of young cats doing that shit, say for instance on the east coast, I got homeboys in OK that are Bloods, I got Blood homies in Tacoma [Washington], Denver, [Colorado], all over the country. I really don't trip on it, I think they made a mistake by adding that shit to their hood, because that shit brings a lot of problems, especially with the rap shit. Its killing west coast rap right now. I don't really trip off of saying that they are copycat cities, because we are all doing the same shit anyways, I just think it is fucked up because this shit has really done a whole lot of terrible things to my life, and I don't glorify it, if you listen to my music, it is mostly not about glorifying the life, I talk about real shit, shit I been through, that's it. Mitchy Slick, "Ain't My Fault" AA: At the end of your song, "Ain't My Fault" at the end there is a reference to the neighborhood Lincoln Park, Green Ragging, most people out there don't know what that is or what than means, can you break that down? MS: My hood, Lincoln Park is the area where I lived, it's a Blood hood and we don't wear the color red, well we wear red, but it does not signify our neighborhood, our color is green, and the color change came from my homeboys in the neighborhood, the superior niggas that wanted to be identified individually and not just by a color that all the rest of the bloods were being identified by. But Lincoln Park is in San Diego, California, and you can catch us on Logan Avenue, all the way up to 45th Street anywhere by Lincoln Park. That's my zone around there, and everybody know that, Slick ain't one of these fake niggas that just talk about this shit, I am not just one of the homies, nah, I am one of the real 100% front line soldiers that any nigga from my neighborhood would vouch for that, I am talking about all the way, all the way active, so when I tell my shit I be telling real shit, I am not just glorifying it or making it, I really was one of the front line main homies if you ask niggas about Slick across the country, if they know about Lincoln Park, they are gonna say that Mitchy Slick is one of the main homies. AA: Now you are talking about South East San Diego, the same area where Reggie Bush is from. MS: Reggie Bush, Marcus Allen, Rashan Sallam, a lot of Heisman Trophy winners man. AA: in your self-titled song, Mitchy Slick, you mentioned in a lyric, you are from a neighborhood that was mentioned in Monster Kody famous book, Autobiography of an LA Gang Member. How did it feel to be acknowledged in his book. MS: Well here I go again, I got to be the cocky San Diego nigga, it doesn't mean shit, he is supposed to mention us, we were one of the meanest Blood turfs in all of California for sure, for real, no question, our neighbor hood is know in the pen and in San Diego my neighborhood is know for the worst shit, to the police, they said we were the worst shit, we were put on the gang injunction, they came directly to me and 24 of my homeboys and put us on this list saying that we can be in these areas, we cant be around these people, it really unconstitutional, people who don't have criminal records, it was juveniles on this list that had never been to jail just because of heresay, they cam directly to Mitchy Slick, my name is in that book, bold print, I am not glorying it I am just saying its real, when you run my ID it says I am a terrorist. AA: What do you think those gang injunction law do? MS: They ain't did shit, I think they put them together so that when some crimes come up, and they want to stop everybody for one crime, like some RICO law type shit, they haven't been successful. AA: It seem in the North County Times they cover a lot of stories on gangs injunctions in San Diego. Do you think they are going to go after more neighborhoods in SD? MS: They are doing already now, the make a petition, saying that you are a menace to society, then they put you on this list for like 5 years, it ain't really stopping shit, unless you just hanging out fucking up shit 24/7, but this rap shit kinda save me a little bit from some of the hood shit, I am fortunate enough to be on the road, make some money while I am doing my music, but for the homies that are just on some hood shit, its fucked up. AA: earlier this year you announced a deal with DJ Mugs and Angeles Records, how is that going so far? MS: Its going cool, because my dude is down with me he a real cat, he gives me my freedom, there ain't no slick business shit going on, he's got the connect, ain't nobody sold more records on the west coast than Muggs except for Dr Dre, that dude knows the business and that right there alone is enough reason for me to fuck with him alone. AA: Now when you are dealing in the music business you are going to run across Crips as well other Bloods, how do you deal with any potential beefs when dealing with other Crips that are also in the music business? MS: It's a crazy code we have on the west coast, it is just something about being in the game, its really unwritten, mutha fuckas really get their shit together and really to put that gang shit aside, because a lot of Bloods and Crips got to fuck with each other. I know Snoop, Kurupt, Bad Azz, Roccett, C-Bo all them dudes are my niggas, its not just about this red and blue shit, if a nigga aint done nothing to me I aint trippin, I aint not active front line ignorant 15 year old gang banger anymore, it aint a lot of them rapper, if someone is gonna get at you its going to be about some real shit, not about he got on red or he got on blue, everybody respect everyone. AA: Everyone who knows your history and who you are, knows you are real from the streets of San Diego, but at the same time you are working on your music and you are in the studio, and sometimes people, outsiders think how can a guy from the streets be real and also be in the studio making a record, how do you balance that so people don't get it twisted on who you are and what you are all about? MS: I don't have to do nothing. If you listen to my music, its just certain shit that a mutha fucka who aint real cant say, you got a lot of rappers, Bloods and Crips, but they cant say shit like, "I really stood out on the front line/ and rolled for the dead homies," they cant say that, they cant say that, its real political in what I just said. "I took care of the homies through years/ made sure we persevere through the triggery," they cant say that in their raps, "I made sure the homies was on deck/ and put it down when the war was on," it aint a lot of niggas rapping that can say that right there, I aint saying no names, but they cant say that, because whatever you say on that record your homies are going to be on your head about it if it aint the truth. AA: A lot of rappers, they been criticized for trying to maintain an identity that's not true to what they have been, and it seems like a lot of rappers I have come across, it seems like what you are rapping about and where you really come from is pretty close, but 90 percent of the rappers out there cant say what you say, but a lot of outsiders think that they can say that, and that seems to be the difference between a guy like Mitchy Slick and another rappers. And the general public has the misconception of what rappers are really rappin about. MS:Well I don't want to point no fingers because I am not a hater, but my music if for the realist of the niggas, that's why I write, of course I want the masses to love it, but I get off when I know niggas on a prison yard are debating about something I said. I make it for the real niggas and everybody who really appreciates it, but for everybody who is getting their money and living a façade, I don't really care, I am cool with that too, but if you want to hear some real shit come to Mitchy Slick, because I gonna tell you about some real, I gonna tell you "all my homeboys can vouch for me/ I been bangin' on the front line since elementary," niggas cant say that in their rap. If you want to hear shit like that you have to listen to Slick. Strong Arm Steady AA: Tell me about Strong Army Steady and how is it working for you? MS: Strong Arm Steady is a group that was put together by the homeboy Krondon, my LA nigga, one of the sickest artist the west coast got right now for sure hands down. We came together doing the mix tape thing. AA: Other than Krondon and you who are some other members. MS: Krondon, Ras, Feel the Agony, Xzibit, Defari, Chocolate Thai and Phil the Agony is one of the most rappinest cats I know. He got his own genre that he dominates and I been fortunate to have him open up to me. AA: How has your experience growing up in South East SD, Lincoln Park have impacted how you write your music. MS: I got so many stories, I could never run out of shit to talk about, that's what made me start rapping, Master P would tell you the truth, as wild as that sounds, because what Master P showed me, because his community, in his city, supported him of some real shit, blew him up and he did it from the street, and I said dam I could do that. I said Slick got real history to tell, there are some real stories to tell that Mitchy Slick was a part of. I know my town and San Diego is going to support it. That's what made me start doing this. There came a time that I had to get off the front line because I was really hot, I had to slow down, my big homies Frost and Eddie Boy told me to slow down, and I started writing the music and if you listen to my music, I be getting at the homies. AA: Because you achieved a level of success and being from the hood, there usually a bit of haterism, even from your own neighborhood, how is it going back to where you are from being that you have some more money & notoriety in the music industry than you had before. MS: I aint just being that was a real stand out cat from my neighborhood when I started rapping. We have hood stars that are just as important as a big rapper, but Slick was one of them back then, this shit didn't start with the rap shit, they got player haters, and they also got gangsta haters too, muthafuckas that will hate because of your status, because of your gangsta, because how much the big home boys like you, and what the homeboys will do for you, or why the homies would listen to you, that's just part of the gang bangin' shit. But if you aint handling your business then you aint a real homie, and when I say real homie, I am meaning got all the stars and stripes and did everything you had to do to be an official homie, there might be a hood of 1,000 homies but its only about 30-40 that are official front line A-team homies in each generation, and I been that nigga, so when you have that and come up, there aint none of that funny shit going on with your homeboys are pressing you about some dough, because they know I done did all that shit, so I don't have to go through that shit that a lot of other rappers have to go through. I been looking out for my homeboys and I been trying to get the homeboys to do this rap shit with me, but there are gonna be a few haters but they was hating for other shit, hating because I used to slap them and tell them they couldn't hang in the turf, they are the same ones hating today on the rap shit. AA: Bloods in the music industry, DJ Quik from Tree Top Piru came out back in 1991 and Suge Knight from MOB Piru co-founding Death Row Records really popularized Bloods from a hip-hop perspective, why do you think so many other cities want to be Blood and want to start Blood neighborhoods all over American cities. MS: What made everybody want to be Bloods is when New York niggas said fuck it, and said we aint ashamed of saying we are Bloods, we are gonna put it on front line, and it made a lot niggas want to come out the closet and say fuck it too. The LA niggas went a lot of places, and a lot of those towns, there is a certain little hatred towards the Cali Crip niggas from LA and it made some of them want to be Bloods because of the other Cali niggas getting money in their towns. I know how that work, I been around all these niggas on all these aspects, I have been to Atlanta and I been to St Louis and it wasn't on no rap shit, it was on some real gangsta shit, I got Damu homies in the Bay. AA: So what you got coming out and what projects you working on. Mitchy Slick's The Urban Survival Syndrome with appearances by Xzibit, SAS, WC, C-Bo, Tiny Doo, Wrongkind Crew MS: I got the Urban Survival Syndrome out on Angeles Records. Of course my record label too, Tha Wrong Kind Records a joint venture with the homie Muggs, good looking to Muggs. Shout out to Chase and the homeboy Janky from Janky Management, he really been right here on my side putting it down. I got two new videos hitting the street, one for my single Bass Chasers and I got one out for Aint My Fault featuring the homie Tiny Doo and the homeboy Kobe from Chicago. I am about to get them poppin on the TV soon, and if any body wants to throw about three or four million at a young hustler, we can do some business. You can find Mitchy Slick online at http://www.myspace.com/ogmitchyslick and www.mitchyslick.net News Topics | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People| Life in a Gang | Gallery | Iraqi Cards | Memorial | Migration | Graffiti | Resume| Injunctions Homicides | Maps | Contact

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