AB: Most cats associate the name Saafir with Digital Underground ,or, the carjacking scene in Menace to Society, or, how you battled Hiero on the Wake Up Show a few years back- does that bother you?

S: It don't bother me, but now.....It's cool to be recognized for my accopmlishments and what not. But I don't put too much on it. I just do what I do and keep ridin'. I don't want people to be like "Oh, you did this. You did that."- I didn't do nothin'. I'm operating all under the grace of God. If thats waht I gotta do, then I'm gonna be down and do it.

AB: Well, since we're talking about it now, how DID you get that part in Menace anyway?

S: At the time I was dealing with Digital Underground on an artistic level. I was affiliated with Money B and then I started hanging with Tupac. I moved in with Tupac.. The brotha extened his gratitude to me in like 1990-91. I was homeless and dealing with a lot of drama. But I stayed with him. And this was right around the time he was doing the video for "Brenda's Got A Baby". The Hughes Bros. did hte video for that. After the shoot, I guess Pac didn't really wanna kick it with 'em. They was at a hotel in Oakland. I called 'em and broke bread with 'em. They aked me "Whats there to do out here"? I went through there. We did our thug thang. They asked me if I acted. I told them I acted every day with the police. They were like "OK, we gonna shoot you a script, since you was holdin' us down while we were out here". Two weeks late the script came, I read. I called them back, they called me back. They flew me down, and I read for the casting directors. they told me I got the part and it was on.

AB: You face has become immortal for that scene. Why didn't we see you in more flicks after that?

S: At the time I didn't have representation. You know I was a young rider, stickin' and movin' as it is. And the more brothas and sistas recognized me for Menace, the more I wanted to slip ino the cut. I wasn't used to that level of attention. Dealing with certain aspects of what they call "the reality of life", and the cats thats around it you tend to get paranoid. If you're not paranoid to the point of always being attentive, you're stupid. But I wasn't really used to that, so I slid into the cut. Plus I didn't want to go through all the ails that actors go through trying to get other jobs. I wanted to prove my point in this rap shit and let 'me know that I'm a hitter when ti comes to this rhymin'. Once I got a lil noteriety [as an MC] I could let them know my talents as an actor. My father and my uncle were actors as well as musicians. So it comes natual to me in my blood through my experiences. I'm trying to get e hit, get noticed, bump up into a good movie and let my talent shine.

AB: So, do you ever talk to the Hughes Bros. anymore?

S: I seen the briefly at a restaurant when I was chopping it it up with this cat about this record you're about to hear. I got they number, called 'em. Got the answering machine. I guess schedules is so hectic once they reached a certain level in Hollywood that it's hard to reach out to certain cats. But I know they doin' they thang and hopefully I can break bread with them in the future, touch one of them flicks and grace the screeen.

AB: But you just finished doing an independent flick right?

S: Yeah WAS called "Fishes Outta Water", but they changed it. But I have a starring role in it. Shock G is in the movie, Fat Joe- no big names but at lot really good actors. It's really an abstract movie, so it's hard for me to even explain it to you. It'll reach the Sundance Film Festival and the theates soon hopefully. Regardless it was kind of a bootcamp kind of thing. I was in wat that was 32 degrees. I was jumping off of 50 foot cliffs backwards doing cannon balls. I do all my own stunts. So anybody who wants to fuck with me, I'm a stunt man to.

AB: So Jackie Chan should be checkin' for you?

S: Oh yeah he can check for me. I got bullet wounds and bad knees but we can break bread Jackie, Jackie!!

AB: I saw you popped in that Mya video a few months back. How'd you hook up with her?

S: I did a fashion spread in Rap Pages by way of Marc Littlejohn [the fashion editor]. He asked me to to a spread with Miss Toy from the Milita and Terry Dexter. So, I did it and some girls that run Star Casting and Entertainment saw it. They showed Mya the spread and she was interested. so they called me through this hustler named Monalisa. Monalisa got at me and told em about it. I called and went down there with my man Troy Shelton, who knoew her manager. They breoke bread, I went down there and politiced with her. She was a real female. It kinda caught me by surprise. Not that I saw her as fakem but you know how fake Hollywood shit is today. It was surprising to find a real one at the status she's at. She was real with hers so it was easy to act with her.

AB: Speaking of groups, what happened to the Golden State Warriors?

S: Everybody is doing their own solo projects, but we still around.

AB: At this point in your career, you got this new album The Hit List [Qwest Records]. It was finished almost a year and a half ago, yet it's still light years ahead of a lot of stuff thats out right now. How did you manage to pull that off?

S: Basically, when I wrote the album I tried to keep it conceptual. Having the moniker "The Hit List" basically explains me killin' the rhyme. But what I wrote, I wrote from the soul, I didn't write from the mind. I write from the inside focusing my thoughts to come with a simple strategy. I guess when you focus on the authenticity, mixed with the creativity, you usually get classic material that lasts beyond the time span of the average.

AB: So, do you have any other projects you're working on right now?

S: A lot of my focus right now is going into a clothing company I'm starting called Poli' Wear. Clothes to politic in- ya know? It's gonna be real hot. Real quality material and fresh designs, be on the lookout for it

AB: It's weird, because on one hand you have put in a lot of work. You battled hella cats and did mad shows. On the other hand, you only released like two albums. At the same time, you make other rappers change their style. Do you feel pressure being as talented as you are? Knowing that "If I do XYZ, THESE cats are gonna change".

S: No, I don't feel any pressure. The only pressure I feel is to satisfy my own need to create at a very premium level. But I don't care about other cats changing up they shit and biting. That seems to be the trend in hip hop today. Everybody is brainwashed and everybody bites. I keep to the originality. I don't do what everybody else is doing. You gotta walk that fine line. You gotta get that paper fa 'sho. But you gotta keep your individuality, keep your integrity and keep some sort of fucking pride in your profession. That shit is is like non existent in Hip Hop today. the shit that's coming out is fucking terrible. You got a couple of thug niggas who can really bust. Give them there's. I don't knock nare niggas hustle. But at the same time it's like "God Damn man, if you can't rap nigga get the fuck outta here". But if you can hustle your way throughout he middle of that shit, but, can't bust a lick because of muthafuckas that buying that bullshit......you know circulating in the matrix as brainwashed population then fuck it man get your money. At the same time I'm a nigga of the ART. I respect niggas with skills that really put time in. I mean, what happened to that shit [the true arts of rhyming and battling]? It's like everybody has a Webster's dictionary with the same cover. But if I come like a thesaurus- I'M WACK, I'M WEAK?......And some niggas out here got other niggas writing for you, and you actin' like YOU doin' it? You a sucka. If you in this game and you can't write, what are you in this game for? To get ya money, right? Well, get you money and get the fuck up outta here!