interview by Ray C.

In DC there are many record labels and families. The Organized Rhyme Family (Sky Republic) is one of the most respected in the area. Tabi Bonney, Haziq, Joey Black, Luegar Johnny are talents that are easily recognized on the music scene. I recently got the chance to catch up with Luegar and talk about his new project, the business and what he intends to bring to the game.

CRED: Talk to me about the New D.C. mixtape how did you come up with that?

Lug: well that was something that is actually thought up by Furious Styles.,... it was a combination of things. The overall direction of the city is changing, who is running D.C plus the direction of the music and how hip hop has grown. You know you used to be a bamma if you was a rapper.

CRED: How did the whole the whole Weekend Girl song come about?

Lug: I was lucky to get the song I tell people that the song was a hit before I got it. All I had to do was hold up my end of the bargain and make the verses tight. I walked in the booth one day and the producer had it playing then I went and asked him about it at another time and he wasn’t doing anything with it so I took it write to it and the rest is history. I am going to ride it until the wheels fall off.

CRED: How did the video come about?

Lug: Well me and Tabi sat down and brainstormed a couple of ideas and we came up with the best thing that we could the goal was to get the video on MTV.

CRED: Is it running on MTV?

Lug: They are spiking it on MTV. I get a call once a week from someone who sees it on TV.

CRED: You have been involved with the DC Hip Hop movement from the beginning can you give me your perspective on hoe it is changing?

Lug: I think it has come a long way. DC rap started with Scorpio then you have your Ronnie Ts and all them types of people. They kind of the pioneers of DC rap and they got their names rapping over go go beats not to many people listened to rap as a opposed to go go. You can tell just look at the DJ circuit a lot of the DJs are not from here people from DC was not into rap like the rest of the country because we were into go go. Now there are so many people that want to be rappers and there is a lot of talent. A lot more people got serious about the art and the quality of the art.

CRED: Talk about some of the artists that inspired you.

Lug: Run DMC. I used to like Kool G Rap and Ice Cube. I was into West Coast music for a long time. It wasn’t until Nas that I started to listen to East Coast music again.

CRED: How did the collaboration for The World Is Mine come about?

Lug: My homie Y from DC he used to own the palace back in the day used to bring them boys in for shows. I know they brought Yukmouth and Devin the Dude in here for shows so it was a good relationship to have. We set it up flew him out then we flew him out for the video and then that was it.

CRED: What can people expect when they hear The New DC mixtape?

Lug: Hopefully a lot of stuff because I do not think that I have reached my full potential. I am still learning and getting better. I can move like an artist. This is what I do full time, I do not have to worry about working and doing this on the side so I am still growing and getting better.

CRED: Did you guys set it up for Tabi to be the first to come out of the crew?

Lug: I will tell you exactly what happened we had been doing the group thing for years, years and years and it got to the point where we realized they were not signing groups no more. Tabi was the first to take it on himself put together a solo project and mash with it.

CRED: Where does Luegar’s music fit in the lager scheme of hip hop?

Luegar; I am dropping a new mixtape called The Total Package. I kind of want to be well rounded. I do not have a west coast sound or a east coast sound. My music is a lot of that blended in so I just want to fill in the creases and get in where I fit in. The Weekend Girl is like an 80s track other than that I lean more toward street music.

CRED: Anything that you want to say to everybody?

Luegar: Check out the Total Package,watch out for Tabi Bonney got a few things coming out. Organized Rhyme is now Sky Republic for legal reasons.

CRED: What advice do you have for up and coming artists.

Luegar: You have to have your business right. Decide what you are in it for and go from there.