Happy 4/20 to those who celebrate! In honor of today’s festivities, I spoke to our good friend Smoke DZA, who knows a thing or two about it. Things that get brought up? Obviously, shrooms, snacks and napping — honestly, what more were you expecting? — but I really like DZA reminiscing about two buildings that no longer exist: the old D-Block studios and the movie theatre on 125th.
How do you know The LOX or how do The LOX know you?
My first formal introduction was from Styles. Maybe at a Curren$y show? But he embraced me and knew who I was…it fucked me up. It blew my mind. And then it was like, “Yo, come to the studio.” This is when they had the old studio…
The haunted one.
Where the U-Hauls were at.
And you had to climb the stairs and they like, shared the building with carpenters.
It was always under construction. It was literally what a D-Block studio would be, until you were inside. All of them had their own separate rooms, I thought that was cool. And it just an open-door policy, so for me to just go in to link with Styles, that got me next to Kiss and Sheek…it’s been genuine love since day 1.
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What’s a movie that has great visuals when you’re high?
Um…this’ll take a second to answer your question but I recently took some shrooms and Above the Rim two times, back to back….you know, I don’t know what made me do that.
Guessing shrooms?
(laughs) When I love a movie, I memorize every scene like it’s a Biggie verse. Above the Rim is just one of those movies — when Bernie Mac is heckling Marlon Wayans and Duane Martin, and Marlon’s like, “Come back here, yellow eyes! Go stop some traffic with them yellow eyes!” Anyway, I watched that movie back-to-back and I just started to pin-point some shit I’d never seen. It just made me laugh harder, and at the end of the movie I was crying. I guess that was my shroom trip? I don’t know if it was because of the shrooms or because it was filmed in my late grandparents’ neighborhood. But long story short, Above the Rim is the most recent movie I had eyes on and seen it from a different lens while high.
What is a complicated movie that’s easy to follow when you’re high?
Belly! Belly is very complicated. As a young guy, I think I was just most-attracted to the imagery and people in there — “Oh wow, Method Man. Oh wow, this person.” When you’re a little older and you’re trying to process the movie, you’re just like, “What the fuck is happening?” (laughs) I think when I’m high, I’m able to process it a little better. I start making excuses for them.
What are your thoughts on the Malcolm X stuff in Belly?
It was so dumb. Like, where in the fuck in the plot did he become a hitman for Dr. Ben Chavis? It threw me for a loop. Let’s figure out if Nas is going to Africa. Let’s figure out if he actually made it. Did he actually leave? What the hell happened? It was just a lot.
Who do you identify most with, in House Party?
(laughs) Play. Early Play was a piece of shit friend — but he meant well! But he was a piece of shit friend. He threw a good party, though, and he knew how to dress and he had charisma. I relate to Play in that movie.
The self-awareness is admirable!
What is the best movie candy?
I hate Goobers — I’ll start with the ones I hate. I hate Whoppers; I fucking hate Whoppers. Any time I see that little off-white box — oh my God, I don’t even know why they sell them shits. That shit should be discontinued from all countries, what a horrible candy. Horrible. I’ll go with Raisinets.
You know who else said that to me? Bun B.
See?
I don’t know what I see, but I see it!
What’s an old-school NYC movie experience that you had?
My dad — the first movie I went to go see, cause I’m a mark — was No Holds Barred. I’ll never forget, 1989 — the same movie theatre that appeared in Above the Rim, that Leon was walking out with Kyle Lee Watson’s moms to go see Shaft — is the same movie theatre that my dad took me to see Hulk Hogan in. And that was, oh man. That was just so cool to me, because not only was it my first movie I ever went to see, but I got to see Hulk Hogan. And that meant everything to me. If you’re from Harlem and you’ve been to that theatre, you know why it’s so cool. Cause I don’t know if that theatre existed for many years after that. I think it closed a couple months after my dad and I was there.
Not to put your business out there, but where do you go see movies now?
I don’t. I mean, if I do go, I go to the IMAX in Jersey. But everything is at our fingertips now! By the time the movie comes out, it’s already on streaming services. It’s not like it was, back in the days. Now that shit is straight to the tube. I like IMAX, though: it’s so much bigger, pause, and you’re in comfortable recliner seats. Thank God I go to movies when I really like them, cause if I went to a movie just to check it out, I would go to sleep. It’s very comfortable in there.
Are you somebody who falls asleep in movies?
If it’s slow, yea. I’ll fall asleep at a basketball game if it’s slow! I’m a professional napper: I’ll get my 30 in if I feel like it. I fell asleep at wrestling matches — I’ll fall asleep on some shit if it ain’t going right. My most embarrassing nap moment was, I was on a podcast. It was me, Pete Rock and the great Questlove and they were having a — listen, I’m a nerd. I love wrestling. But this was like, Chinese arithmatic nerdism. They were talking about beats and samples and the technology…! The shit that was going through my brain was just like
and I just fucking fell asleep. I don’t remember what happened. I was literally on the interview to talk as well, but they were having this fucking passionate conversation about music that just stayed there — and I was trying to learn! I still fell asleep.
What’s a movie you’d want to watch, if you were on 2J3BD?
Damn, this is such a hard question. Cause I’d want to watch a movie I actually love like Friday, House Party, Above the Rim…but then I’ve got weird movies that I love, that would just be like, “Why do you love this?”
Yea, I want to hear those!
Along Came Polly. Ben Stiller’s one of my favorite actors. He cracks me up — I rewatched it on the plane the other day and I realized how much I love it. I’d still put Meet the Parents over it — the whole trilogy — and then I’d put Along Came Polly.
Have you met him?
I haven’t met him before, but we’ve got a lot in common: we’re Knicks fans.
You’ve gotta pop up on him at a game. Just don’t fall asleep.
I haven’t fallen asleep at a Knick game, thank god. I have at a Nets game, though. It’s too dark in there.
Speaking of darkness, we are OFF this week! Our first break in a long time. So, enjoy the quiet, make sure to follow Smoke DZA on Instagram and get ready for our live Breakfast Club episode, which will be hitting the feed next Monday.
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