Right About Now, the Funk Soul Brother
The funky technician Lord Finesse
by David Ma
Photo courtesy of Adler Archives
I ran into Lord Finesse in a dimly lit Brooklyn bar about a year ago while he was spinning records for a young crowd. As the Funky Technician played funky breaks, I attempted to set up an interview with one of the most solid MC/producers ever. Although Finesse remains active while still admitting that “rap’s totally changed since I was young,” he continues to do his thing and does so with the swagger he projected on his records.
He eventually wrote his number down on a napkin, and weeks later we were discussing his record-buying habits and how specific albums have influenced him through the years. The following is my complete interview with D.I.T.C.’s founding member—a talk full of stories that I couldn’t squeeze all into Issue 35’s “Record Rundown.” From his decision to start rapping, to a high school battle with AG, to working with Big L and Biggie, Finesse profiles an era when hip-hop was young and his crew were neighborhood kings.
Did something make you decide to rap, or was it something that just happened?
See, my grandma didn’t have money to give me everything I wanted, so I didn’t have the flyest gear or anything. But then I found that rap was a way to get attention. And once you got attention, people weren’t worried about your gear, because their objective’s different; their objective’s changed. Earlier, you had to get the gear in order to be fly. But once you have a talent, once you have a gift, with that comes popularity and your gear doesn’t matter as much.
I mean, I also remember being thirteen and going to clubs and seeing LL Cool J, Busy Bee, DMC, and all these other legends doing their thing. There I was in this nightclub in the middle of the night, and I could see all these icons. They were drinking, chillin’, poppin’ bottles, makin’ money. That’s when I thought, “Man, that’s what I want to do!” [laughs]
Was there a specific moment when you felt hip-hop was your calling?
I would have to say that it was at the No Music Seminar in 1989. I defeated Mikey D, the defending champion from ’88. The seminar showed the world I was nice. DJ Premier and Masta Ace were there, and I remember meeting them. Premier was still fresh from Texas at that point! I showed everyone that I was the best, and everything started to blow up from there.
What are some of your fondest memories during that time, being young when block parties were the norm and hip-hop was young itself?
One of my favorite memories is about Jazzy Jay. It’s funny, ’cause Jay was messing with one of my friend’s sisters. [laughs] When he walked through the projects, people would whisper, “That’s Jazzy Jay.” When I was young, I didn’t know who he was; I just knew he was a respected dude. Now he’s one of the founders. But back then, he was just friends with my boy Carlos. Jay used to give Carlos passes to his shows, so we’d go all the time. We were like the youngest kids in there.
Those block parties were real fun too. I used to go to all the block parties in the hood. Mike Smooth used to throw block parties. So did Showbiz;, he threw a lot of parties and was playing clubs since he was fifteen or sixteen years old. Plus, Diamond D was like the neighborhood freelance DJ. If we went somewhere that was hot, Diamond would hop on and play some obscure breaks or some shit for like a half hour—just real quick, enough for people to catch him. Man, those times were special.
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