Interview w/Killah Priest
By: Justin Rizzio

“Too many phony mc’s out there this year…”. Very true. And even 10 years later, these words still stand true. And so does Killah Priest. With his new album, The Offering, Killah Priest is back to claim his place in hip hop that he feels he deserves. Like many others, Priest has followed the current trend of artists going independent. Even though he is no longer in the mainstream limelight, Priest still delivers his signature hardcore spiritual intellect like only he can. While touring his new record, we caught up with the Wu affiliate to find out about The Offering and what the man himself has to offer. CLICK HERE to purchase NEW ALBUM

215hiphop: Your new album, The Offering, has just been released on Philadelphia’s Good Hands Records. How did that deal happen?

Killah Priest: It happened out in Cali. It came through HipHopGame. They introduced me to Charley (DJ Truth) when I was out there. Me and him talked for a couple of weeks and it was on.

215: You started your career with Wu-Tang, but then later severed ties with certain members. What’s the situation like now?

Killah Priest: Well, I never really disassociated myself with the whole group. I was doing what I’ve been doing, and that’s pursuing my solo career. But me and Gza always been tight. Me and Rza are tight. Me and Rza went through something awhile back because I felt I wasn’t getting exposure that I deserved. It was all learning. But me and Gza hang out all the time.

215: When Heavy Mental dropped in 1998, you were labeled as “the religious mc”. How do you feel about still being labeled as such?

Killah Priest: I don’t even know where that came from. I think it came from Geffen. I don’t know why so many people think that. Mad rappers talk about god. 2pac talked about god. I guess because my name was Priest. I guess that’s where it comes from.

215: What’s new with the Four Horsemen?

Killah Priest: Everything. Everybody’s still shaky on what they want to do. But I just got to get everybody together, so I guess that’s how it’ll go.

215: Will there be another Black Market Militia album?

Killah Priest: Of course. We were just talking about that. Actually, we’re more than disciples now. We’re G-sciples. We’re working on that.

215: I’m sure you’ve noticed that the majority of hip hop audiences have turned into mostly white kids. How do you feel about that?

Killah Priest: You can take it back as far as you want to. Hip hop is universal. There’s no problem. It’s just that allot of black kids are being catered to by the bullshit they play on the radio. I don’t know…whatever.

215: Do you think that today’s black youth doesn’t really understand hip hop as a culture?

Killah Priest: Yeah, I think they need to be retaught. They’re looking at allot of videos and all that shit isn’t real. Allot of executives are actually wearing jewelry and talking all this shit, and they want to follow all these so called trends.

215: Allot of people would consider you a serious person. What does a guy who calls himself Killah Priest do for fun?

Killah Priest: I like to have fun. I laugh at jokes. I watch Family Guy, the number one TV show out there!

215: Being on an independent label, do you keep current on other “underground” artists?

Killah Priest: I think that’s help me explore who I am. I don’t know what the hell happened since like 2003. It’s like I went to sleep and all these guys just blew up. Some I remember, but some, I don’t know where the fuck they came from. But they got this fan base. I came back to claim my title. If anybody is king of the underground, it has to be me. Allot of mc’s out there will admit that. If they don’t, I’m taking it anyway. We can do it by peace, or we can do it with the horses and take it back to the crusade era. I’m saying this because the mainstream seems like they don’t want to let me in. I got to kick the doors a couple of times. Those mainstream rappers…they know me! They listen to my music. I’m tired of being just a rapper’s rapper.

215: Since we are in Philly, are there any artists from here you like, or would like to work with?

Killah Priest: Lost Children of Babylon. I’ve been working with them for a while. Also I got Blood Sport on my album. He’s from Philly. Black Thought and Beanie Sigel been putting it down for a minute. Lightborn, my man. That’s my number one cat right there. He’s here tonight, of course.

215: Want to plug the record before we go?

Killah Priest: The Offering. That’s all I’ll tell you. I got Nas, Immortal Technique, Rass Kass, Canibus, Kurupt. What else is there to say? I’m on there. That’s important.

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