Christ Still Nice (1/26/01, 7 a.m. ET) - Even while the discovery of the lost scrolls is reviving interest in his past, MC J.C. is frantically working on his present, and future. We caught up with the lord while he was taking a break from recording his next release (we can't tell you the studio, he's insisting on secrecy as a precondition for our exclusive access).

NYT: so what you been doing, god?

JC (looks annoyed): that's God, dawg, i'm a CAPITAL G...

NYT: my bad, my bad...

JC: i've just been doing my thing, dealing with a lot of nonbelievers, a lot of adversity, yunno? i'm just *real* vexed at how last year went down tho'. damn.

NYT: how so?

JC: what is you stupid? that was sposed to be MY YEAR? we had an ad campaign set up over two millenia, you know how much effort that takes? and then for the album to not drop??? *grrrr*

NYT: so what happened?

JC: it was the label, man. well, i'm not without fault myself. no , waittaminit, yes i am. they messed up. basically, that's what went down. i tried to come out on an indie label, break up the monopoly of BMG (Baptist Music Group) and ViaCom (Vatican Information and Artistic Communications).

NYT: wasn't your new label a dot com?

JC: yeah. bad timin'. if i came out in '99, prolly would have blown up the spot, nahmean? they was promisin' ownership of my publishing, plus Rza-type points, Master P type clout and i couldn't pass on that. you know VIACom and BMG still own the rights to almost all of the work i did in my New Testament period?

NYT: you not gettin paid for none of that son, they be playin it all on the radio, and on sundays, lawd, they be passin the hat--

JC: i'm sayin! I went and just sat in on a church the other week and this pastor bit my entire Sermon On The Mount??? i'm like, i shouldn't have let Judas talk me into selling my masters... but what can you do, yunno?

JC: i feel like Lord Finesse, or Large Professor or sumpthin'. heads been waitin' for my album to drop so long. now the joint i was gonna release last year is all tied up in litigation* so I'm a just start from scratch. plus, the beats are kinda stale now, I had joints by Swizz, Timbaland, and Trackmasterz, but i think hip hop is shifting a little. Manny Fresh sent me some stuff and i'm kinda feelin that... also, there's this cat named Label Guy who's gonna help me with the PR stuff so i can just focus on what i do, yunno, saving the world. i'm out to save the world

Jesus abruptly ended the interview when Primo walked into the studio (time is money). *the title of last year's album was supposed to be The Second Coming, but that's tied up in court proceedings. Currently, LG let me know that they were considering Thief In The Night or Still Healmatic for the new album, slated for fall 2001. -- Dream Hampton, New York Times, New York



peace & blessings,

x.