FIELD MOB

SOUTHERN EXPOSURE

interview by Meshack Blaq
photos by Monkey Wrench

A couple of hours south of Atlanta just shy of the Florida border rests a small town called Albany, Georgia. Out of that town come a dynamic duo that do nothing but varnish, not tarnish the Southern image we have as Dirty-Dirty. These kids are part of a Mob from the Fields. Hence the name Field Mob. We at Kronick like to do the unorthodox, so we met up with these Cats in NYC to chat up the merits of all things worldly and some of the pitfalls that come with the territory. Overall, these young Brothas are above all, doing their best to elevate the present state of SOUTHERN EXPOSURE..

KRON: Can you explain the Hellish nature of your discussion our way up in the elevator?

KOLLAGE: When we were on the elevator I just felt like when a person dies, first they gotta go through check-in. Dying is just like going through the airport. You can go on and get your bags because you're fiddin' to go somewhere for a minute. I feel like Hell, you know if you're going to Hell or not ahead off time. Before everything is gone you already know. But I just feel like sheeit... That's how it is. People die and they gotta go through it. I ain't even scared when I die because I know I'm goin' to Hell. I made sure I go to Hell.

KRON: What are you thinking as you look down off this rooftop? I seen you lookin' 50 stories down real hard, like you're thinkin' about somethin'.

BOONDOCK: This is the first time I've ever been this high on top of a building. We're from the deep South where we got small buildings. No tall buildings like this. You might have a pecan tree or peach trees or plum trees. You may have a building that's at least 15 feet high or two stories up. But nothin' like this at all.

KRON: So bein' that this is your second time in New York City, what do you think about how those are the only group of trees (pointing to Central Park just below our gaze) that you see out here on this island called Manhattan?

BOONDOCK: It's strange to see no trees and no grass. As a matter of fact, the trees they got here in the city, they got a fence around ‘em so people won't knock ‘em over. New York City don't have many trees and you can tell by how the people act. In our city, if you kick a tree over, ain't nothin' gon' happen. You kick a tree over in Manhattan, you might get arrested.

KRON: Why do y'all call yourselves the Field Mob?

KOLLAGE: We're from Albany Georgia which is the Country. Down in Albany that's actual slave land that used to be land from the fields and the plantations. Slaves worked in the fields there so we try to represent that to the fullest ‘cause a lot of people have forgot where they're from. These folks from New York just don't know they're originally from down there where we at. Slavery and all that took place down there in the fields down South. Now our people done migrated up here for so many generations from the Underground Railroad that led people to freedom until today. Well that Railroad led people up here to New York. But the ones that are still down South like us are still representin'. And we gon' be forever reprsentin' the Field.

KRON: So it has to do with the field Nigga and the House Nigga type of thing? Is it more or less goin' back to the Plantation?

BOONDOCK: Yea, goin' back to the plantation and the roots. To the poor times where everybody had Soul and everybody loved each other ‘cause we ain't had nothin' else back then. Over the years we done migrated and went different ways so now we got different kinds of Black people. You got light skinned people that don't even like dark-skinned people. But back then it wasn't no such thang as Playa Hatin'. It was all love in the field. And that's what we represent.

KRON: You don't have a problem being called Country?

KOLLAGE: Man I LOVE bein' called Country. I'ma tell y'all, I'm COUNTRY! Cunn-tree like flip-flops and sox. Like grits and fried fish in the mornin, Baby! Country like finger lickin' chicken and hot wings in the kitchen

BOONDOCK: Country is a compliment for us. That ain't no diss. The only thang different is poverty.

KOLLAGE: God was different too. Look how different Jesus was in his time. Now look at him. He's alright!

BOONDOCK: I mean, people been dissin' the country for years. Country was supposed to been known as ugly. So like Biggie Smalls who was a big ugly Dude; he put in his Rap that he was tall, Black, and ugly. However he stayed Coogie down to the sox, know what I'm saying? You gotta accept that he's ugly because he told you he was and he's proud of it. He reversed the Game instead of lettin' you pick at him for being ugly. He made you love him for bein' ugly.

KOLLAGE: Baby of the Big Tymers is the Number #1 Stunna and he already tells you he ain't no Rapper but a Game spitter. He flosses and that's all he does. And that's how we doin'. We turnin' it around and makin' you like us for bein' Country!

KRON: Is there some Crew or Posse that you guys are down with that brought you into the Game?

KOLLAGE: No. We got a deal because we made a Hit song that was different. Everybody's on a Bling-Bling, diamond ring, platinum-gold chain thang. We ain't. We did somethin' different and people liked it. That song was "Project Dreams" which is now our single off the album 613: Ashy II Classy.

KRON: So are you guys Ghetto Superstars where you're from?

BOONDOCK: You gotta understand that none of this was planned. Where the song was playing, they was really feelin' it. We was also on a very small-small label that you never heard of and you can't find. The man that owned that label paid for it to be played on local stations and he paid for our tour around the region and all that. That gave us a good Soundscan which got the attention of Management, Publishing, and a record deal on a major label.

KRON: So where's the rest of your Mob at?

BOONDOCK: Well it ain't a type of Mob thang where you got your Tony Montana and your Godfather. It a type Mob to where we Family. Me and him are a two man Mob and we Family.

KOLLAGE: Check this out: the Mob part come in when you think of an angry Mob. You always think of that in a bad way like a group of vigilantes are comin' to get your ass.

KRON: So are you guys angry?

KOLLAGE: I'm angry about the state of how the Game is goin'. How Cats are messin' it up and turnin' it into a Politic Game.

KRON: But isn't this whole Game like a big plantation, though?

KOLLAGE: Yep, and we the slaves.

BOONDOCK: Now why is that? The Game done switched over from bein' Hip Hop into a Politic Game. The most important people now are the A&R people and the Managers and all that type stuff instead of the Rapper. It ain't Hip Hop no more. It's a professional thang and we've learned a lot of things we didn't wanna know. We also learned stuff we did wanna know and put the two together which made us smarter.

KOLLAGE: Everybody's trying to whup everybody. All the Producers in the Game wanna holla out they names on the tracks and be as big as the Rappers. Everybody wanna outshine everybody else. It wasn't like that back in the day.

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