Chicago Belo Zero of Do or More details as they emerge…. Show Comments September 30, Reply. Melvin II. October 1, Reply. October 2, Reply. October 3, Reply. October 4, Reply. Lil Rail. But Kells had already stamped his Chicago seal of approval by that time. Can you talk about the success of that single specifically, and how it became so popular so quick? Belo: You know what, it was really just something new, man.
Me and AK got together, and we were like we are going to break off this sound and break off this style that had never been done before. And you know, to be honest with you, I think people received it so well and so quickly because back then, 2Pac and [ The Notorious B. It was fresh, it was original, and people took to it very quickly and then it just spread like wildfire.
Especially in our hometown of Chicago. Ambrosia For Heads: Were you guys more focused on building your reputation within Chicago, and creating a specific sound that people could associate with the city, as opposed to really trying to compete with the hip-hop heavyweight cities of New York and Los Angeles? Our whole thing was, this is our sound. This is what Chicago sounds like. You know, we respected the cats that came out of New York, and we really respected that whole movement on the West Coast, because like I said, we was hard on N.
That was our group. Even those in the south, like the Geto Boys, you know? We had love for all them, but we really wanted to focus on our own sound. This was a Chicago sound, a Chicago style, and we blocked everybody else out. Making music that a consumer could just put on, let it play and effortlessly ride out to? Belo: Honestly, on that initial album we just wanted to make feel-good music that was real, that the people could relate to.
I think we were just trying to make real-ass music, and people seemed to react to it a certain way. You have to keep in mind, that at that time, a lot of shit was going on. Not just in Chicago, but all around the world. So I think people just related to our music because it allowed them to escape from all the bullshit, and just feel good about the moment. Although we did talk about some harsh realities, and the streets, and the violence in Chicago, and how crooked some of the police were, you know, but at the end of the day, all of that stuff we rapped about on Picture This , a lot of people could relate to, and it made them feel a certain way they had never felt.
So they just continued to gravitate towards it. Was the honesty in lyrically illustrating those harsh realities equally as important to you guys as making feel good music?
Belo: I think it really was, man. I mean, we were in the midst of that shit, bro. We were in the hood. We were in the ghetto. So either we were living that life, or we were exposed to it, or we had family members and friends who were victims of it. So it was important for us to express that vision through our music.
Ambrosia For Heads: You had some legal troubles in and ended up spending a little over four years in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder charges. Looking back on that time, do you think that the type of Rap you guys made and some of the lyrics in it, made it more difficult for you to prove your innocence in that case?
Did you feel the judicial system had already assumed you were a certain type of character simply because you were a gangster rapper? Belo: You know man, to be honest with you…it was a very tricky and testing trial. Obviously, I was going to be stereotyped anyway, but it was a very tricky trial. Nobody else was rocking. He was up there. That man was on the throne for a long time and not just for Chicago. But when you look at that—and this man has been on the pedestal for 10 years, 15 years now—you come along and you somewhat in that category?
It's crazy. In the Bible it says "Faith without works is dead. Every action is a reaction. Chicago's hip-hop has never had the labels, but the music has always existed. What does it mean to you guys to be an artist from Chicago?
AK: Look at all the places that rappers come from. So with that being said, we in the middle. And really, if you look at it, the middle has always been the consumers for rap and we got a chance to see everybody do it. The thing about Chicago is that we take things and make things so original to the point where when it goes out—if you ever looked at any artist that went out of Chicago and made it, from Do Or Die to Crucial Conflict, all the people that made it out of Chicago—they never sold under a million.
Under a million. Belo: It feels good because we planted the seed. So it feels good. You gotta be able to change with time, to adapt. Twista was a part of this, Crucial Conflict was a part of this, Psycho Drama was a part of this, Trackster was a part of this. You can keep going on and on. You guys also linked up again here with Twista, who you recorded Withdrawal with earlier this year. What was it like getting back in the studio with him? Belo: We always been working together. We all worked together, all of us, not just Twista.
All us, we all in the same community but we all worked together in some form or fashion back then. People can see it now, they can see the conversations. But it always happens. Just like the shootings and the killings, it always happened. Since we brought it up, what do you think of the way that subject matter has been handled by the new generation of artists?
So we had a strong structure. Could I say our generation dropped the ball? Yep, I could say that too. Do or Die has sold over 3 million albums. The group has collaborated with industry heavy hitters like Kanye West, R. Kelly, Twista, No I. Judge Brewer vacated the judgment on the grounds that it was excessive and obtained without notice to famed rapper. Belo was represented by Johnetta G.
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