Lord Finesse On “People’s Party With Talib Kweli”

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In this episode of “People’s Party With Talib Kweli”, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with rapper, writer, DJ, and producer:

LORD FINESSE

Here’s what they got into with one of D.I.T.C.’s finest:

  • Large Professor being one of Finesse’s biggest mentors coming up
  • How his Bronx neighborhood of Forest Hills was similar to a village
  • Entering himself in the New Music Seminar to battle the best
  • ‘Funky Technician’ being the spark that formed the D.I.T.C. crew
  • His longtime friendship with fellow D.I.T.C. member Diamond D
  • DJ Mike Smooth who he looked up to like a big brother
  • Talib relating to Finesse’s history of freestyling at school lunch tables
  • Finesse’s signature compound rhyme scheme of using three syllables
  • What rappers inspired Finesse the most while growing up
  • Where Finesse’s knack for clever and comedic punchlines stems from
  • ‘Funky Technician’ being Finesse finding his way and paying tribute to his heroes
  • Guru picking his demo tape while acting as A&R for Wild Pitch Records
  • Finesse’s first encounter with Big L during an autograph signing
  • Being blown away by how polished Big L was at such a young age
  • Becoming a fully fledged producer, giving 5 tracks to Big L for his debut
  • The lead up to Finesse’s producing for Biggie on “Suicidal Thoughts”
  • Why Finesse’s third effort ‘The Awakening’ was his most personal album
  • Getting the opportunity to work with jazz great Roy Ayers on “Soul Plan”
  • Record companies pushing artists to portray false images
  • Working with a young Capone-N-Noreaga and producing “Channel 10”
  • Fat Boy Slim’s sampling of Finesse for the smash hit “The Rockafeller Skank”
  • Fellow D.I.T.C. member Fat Joe and his doing what it took to become a star
  • Finesse producing one of Dr. Dre’s most introspective songs, “The Message”
  • Finesse’s philosophical side is explored about passion and purpose
  • What made the 90’s so special and wanting to see hop hop evolve

“People’s Party With Talib Kweli” is also available to give a listen via Spotify | SoundCloud | Google Play | Apple | Luminary