Canibus explains why he took a break from music in 2001.
Today’s generation may not be aware of Jamaican-born rapper Canibus, but the 47-year-old is still a prominent figure in Hip-Hop. Over two decades in the game, the “Can I Bus” rapper is still releasing new music and recently dropped a new album “Kaiju”. However, he took a break from music in 2001 as he was allegedly being black balled by the industry. In 2002, Canibus signed up for the Unites States Army as he wanted to get away from music and make a difference. Canibus recently sat down with Bootleg Kev where he revealed why he made the decision of giving up rap two decades ago.
“It was right after September 11. That experience, at that time I made a record, C! True Hollywood Stories, that was the album,” says Canibus. “The album was satire, it was. It was just done to kind of, like, allegorically make an album that was– you know, to get under the skin of folks that were saying that, ‘Yo man, I want the records to be hard! I want you to spit harder. The beats, the lyrics, I want more!’ And then I gave them less. Right? By making a record like that… And the record was strictly just something to… it wasn’t serious but it was something that was still palatable.”
Canibus went on to say that sites like The Source had blackballed him and refused to promote his project, causing him to despise hip-hop even more.
He continues, “It was something tangible. You could have went out and got the artwork, look at it, open the fold-out [and be like], ‘Who’s that guy wearing that shirt? Why is he writing that?’ We paid 25 bands for The Source ad and The Source was scared to run the ad because of the relationships that they were saying could have been ruined, and they did it for the money. And then, after that, they turn around and blackball me further. And took money to blackball me. The way I felt at that juncture was like, ‘You know what, rap ain’t it, I’m still young enough to go out and make a difference.”
In the 1990s, the rap legend had a tumultuous career. He had feuds with other hip-hop heavyweights like Wyclef Jean and LL Cool J before releasing the album in question, C True Hollywood Stories. While Canibus continued to release songs into the 2000s, he said that the rifts had a negative impact on him.
Also Check out: J. Cole Names Canibus, Eminem, Royce 5’9″ As His Teenage Inspirations.
Watch his interview below.
[VIA]
