The Evolution of Tha Homosapien

interview by: Nick Weidenfeld

I'm here to report that Del tha Funke Homosapien is all grown up. He's not the snot-nosed Bay Area blunt head we know from his 1991 debut, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, or his 1994, No Need For Alarm. That's right, over the past six years Del has evolved; moved on to greener pastures. He¼s a family man, a businessman, now. He no longer seeks solace and friendship in bud and booze. At least that's what he's been telling all the magazines. But I didn't believe it. No way is a man who made smoking pot cool, calling it quits. Not a chance.

But through all the name calling and peer pressure, he stuck to his story. Well, sort of. "You know, if somebody slips me something," he explains, "I might take it every now and then, but I'm just trying to be healthy." That's what I thought. But, get healthy, Del, that's good. I'm all for that. Lay off the Wendy's hamburgers, keep hitting the weights and practicing the Tae Kwon Do. But, back to debauchery. I want to know what makes a young, petulant rap star settle down and stop living the rock and roll lifestyle that I envy so much. "You know I haven't been smoking so much weed since I've been on probation." Probation will make you rethink committing crimes. Fucking pigs. "I had a little hash nug on me coming back from Amsterdam," he continues. "I wasn't trying to smuggle that shit or nothing. I just left it in my wallet, you know. I was young and just laughed at the guys at Customs. I said, 'C'mon, man, just throw that shit out. I didn't even know I had it.' And they were like, 'You're a drug smuggler!' I was tripping. I couldn't believe it." So, what did Del learn from his encounter with the dreaded Po-Po: "I learned my lesson about leaving that shit on me." A wise lesson, indeed.

So, he dabbles here and there, but he makes it very clear he's not a weed head. Maybe it's just me, but I can't have fun or go to sleep without a visit to the pot machine. I can't even imagine any alternatives- are there any to smoking dope? "Video games," he assures me. Of course, video games! Playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out seems to be the only thing I do after a toke or two, but I guess games could be fun sober. And, Del loves video games. He even has a love song to his favorite game consuls on his latest, and third, album, Left Side of the Brain. A guy who dedicates a track to video games would surely want one named after him. Shit, the Wu-Tang did it. So, what would the Del game be? Maybe, like Leisure Suite Larry, the 1980's PC game, in which you were a sleazy, lounge lizard, who got points for shagging bitches. "Not at all, dude. I got a wife. I can't even be fantasizing about that. No way would she let me endorse that shit." Another one bites the dust to the crippling hand of woman. I didn't want to have to explain to Del that the old ball and chain can' t suppress his imagination, and stop him from, at least, thinking about a wicked three some with two big booty hoes. But I did. "Yeah, I know. I got an imagination. But, I'll fantasize about slicing niggas heads off." Sure, Deltron. Whatever you say. "But, to tell you the truth," he interjects, "lately, I haven't been able to playing games that much. I've been doing so much with the music."

Of course- music. Del is a rapper and makes beats. That must keep him busy. "I've been studying a lot about music, learning more about harmony." Harmony? That's something rap music doesn't have a lot of. But Del has always been on the edge, pushing the envelope of hip-hop with his beats and flow. That's why we love him. At least, that's why most of love him. He seems to think differently, though. "You know what I hate," he bursts out, "some of my fans don't listen to all that much rap. They come up to me and are like, I only listen to you and Divine Styler. Now, Divine Styler is cool but, I mean, you gotta listen to more shit than that to know what hip-hop's about. I'm worried that these fans are going to turn on me if I ever change my style up like what happened to Q-Tip. He raps the same but he's doing something a little different, and all these cats turn on him. I'm lucky I haven't changed too much physically or in my style over the years. But if these cats don't know shit about hip-hop and I change my style up, are they going to turn on me?"

I try to console Del- Tell him no one's going to turn on him. He is and will always be the Del we love. Things will be OK. But his concern is real. He doesn't want to be pigeonholed. He's hitting the music books and wants to discover the uncharted territories of rap. And, why the hell shouldn't he. "I listen to a lot of George Clinton," he adds. "What if I did a funk track? Would niggas be like, you're only supposed to rap over jazz tracks?" Man, did this get me heated. Who's the music man around here: Tha Homosapien, or, you, Mr. Listener? This gets Del all worked up, too. He has some harsh words for the supposed hip-hoppers: "Guys from the 80's, I understand if you're disgruntled, but, c'mon. These act like you should only use loops. "Don't play your own music, just use loops" they say. "That's what hip-hop's about." What!? I'm, like, I was doing that shit better than you niggas years ago. But I got to keep ahead of you niggas and do some new shit. They try to sell me their beats and shit! Why the fuck should I buy your beats when I'm making shit that's hella better, nigga?" Yeah, why should he?

-courtesy of "While You Were Sleeping"

www.whileyouweresleeping.com

-end of interview