After some well-needed hiatus, we are indeed back with another exciting episode of TWIB Meets as we sit down with the hip-hop veteran Fullee (FKA Soup) of the legendary rap group Jurassic 5. Sit back relax and get familiar.
For the benefit of anyone who’s been living in an underground bunker for the past several years…who on earth are you?
Fullee Love!
How did you get started in music, and what drives you to continue?
I got started from pops. He was the one who brought all the records that would start the machine. It started with Ohio Players’s “Funky Worm” and grew from there. Before making records, i did college promotions for Immortal Records, Loud, Interscope, Death Row, Solar and some bullshit called Heartless Records (FOH). I was part of the Goodlife Cafe in LA…met some cats and the ball started rolling from there. What drives me, is just being able to do what I feel I’m cool at, and not working a job!
Do you remember the first recording/song you ever made?
Yea, it was this “Stop Gang Violence” track for this Rap for Peace contest that I thought I’d win cause my family was not only one of the coordinators but also a judge. I’m like “These ni**az don’t stand a chance, I got a crazy connects.” Well come to find out my connect played me [laughs]. But that was the first song.
If a movie about your life in music was to be made, what interesting/strange moments and stories would you share to make the movie cool?
One for sure would be the time , me and a good buddy (who’s no longer here) ran a train on this chick who claimed to be Jim Browns’s niece. At Jim Browns’s house [laughs]. We was all over my man’s house.
Are there any other interesting facts about you that hardly anyone else knows?
I had a lot to do with getting Mobb Deep signed to Loud Records!
What is the greatest thing about working in the music industry? And what would you change if you had the opportunity?
The money ain’t bad if you got the right team. The travel is mad live and the reaction from your peoples who dig whatcha do. I would change the laziness, nobody really looks for talent anymore (my opinion). It’s straight to your social media to see who’s following you, etc. And that’s why there’s more trash, than useable items now, cause you don’t care if they really got it. You got followers and thats good enough.
Looking back, what have been the most important moments in your life?
Being able to have my kids experience different things from me. Both parents being alive to see me reach certain goals. I thank Allah for that without a doubt!
What have been the biggest highlights?
Meeting and kicking it with some of my music heroes and performing in front of 50,000 at Coachella in 2013!
Who are your heroes? Why do they rock your world?
Like a lot of kids in my day…Mike Jack! He just had it all, from the minute he stepped in, you were like “dat boy good!” Prince, cause he never stayed the same, and he made sure u couldn’t label him. Otis Redding, just the raw emotion in his voice…and to be in his early ’20s sangin’ like that, come on! And Al Green, to me Al is the original Keith Sweat [laughs]. Al did some begging, but made it sound and feel cool! There’s more, but those are just a standout few.
Who have been the coolest, most memorable people you’ve met along the way, and how did they make an impact on your life?
GrandMaster Caz. I mean what more to say about this dude, from the minute we met, he just embraced us (J5). And he’s one of the BEST. His impact with the harmonies, routines and sheer knowledge is priceless!
When you’re sitting on the porch age 97 what would you like to look back on and smile having achieved?
Living to be that damn old [laughs]! If you ain’t smiling by that point, something’s wrong. Doing what I set out to do, cause most will talk themselves outta their dream.
What has been your most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
Selling out 02 Academy in Brixton, London with J5 two nights in a row, and performing in front of 50,000 at Coachella. So those are the two most memorable.
What has been your strangest celebrity encounter?
Sugar Ray Leonard scalping Jurassic 5 tickets to me. I started to take off on him, but moms called at that moment and saved him from dat ass whoopin’ [laughs].
Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
Jack Johnson (the boxer). I’d get a couple of white chicks, slide him through the In-N-Out burger joint like, “this ain’t the early 1900’s no mo Jack, burgers and white women are legal” [laughs].
What are the greatest songs, albums, books, movies, TV shows, websites you’ve ever come across?
• Albums: Masters Of Ceremony, Prince –1999, and Threat’s Sickinnahead
• Songs: Eagles – “Hotel California,” Sly and The Family Stone – “If You Want Me To Stay” and Gino Vannelli’s – “I Just Wanna Stop”
• Books” The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Movies: Ray, Hell Night, and A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich
• TV Shows: Good Times, The Twilight Zone (original) and The 1966 Marvel Cartoons
Name 5 songs (yours excluded) that we would expect to find on your iPod or Music Player
• OV Wright – “God Bless Our Love”
• Friends Of Distinction – “Gazing in the Grass”
• Sly & The Family Stone – “If You Want Me To Stay”
• Slick Rick – “The Moment I Feared”
Where can everyone reading this interview keep up with your adventures?
• Instagram: @fullee_love
• Twitter: @fullee_love
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fulleelove
Any final thoughts?
My debut LP, Free, White & 21 is out right now on all digital platforms! Cop it☛ HERE
Follow me on the Gram, Twitter and Facebook—thanks for your time!
If you liked this, check out our past interviews HERE
The Author
