In 1994 fans turned off by a headlining band at the Lollapalooza tour in Atlanta got a piece of something fresh at a side stage. An up-and-coming rapper from New Jersey was energizing a crowd of 50, asking fans to throw weed at the stage before diving into the crowd of waving hands.
Seven years later, Redman is still out there and bigger than ever. And he is still giving off energy, calling for blunts and immersing himself in his crowd. Proof positive came at Program Board’s Fall Fest on the Quad Saturday.
The artist most students know from his work with Method Man on “How High” and “Cheka” remains true to his fundamentals – he makes rhymes because it’s fun and it supports a larger purpose for him:
“It’s a blessing to move up, music selling, being successful,” Redman said after Saturday’s show. “I didn’t think I was gonna get this.big. I just wanted enough money to buy enough weed and shit.”
Redman, who is Reggie Noble by birth, was propelled into the hip-hop spotlight on the cuffs of other respected artists, including Erick Sermon and Method Man, a close friend of his.
A blend of reggae and funk along with the use of creative skits featuring his alter ego, Dr. Trevis, grabbed him enough attention to turn debut album, Whut? Thee Album, gold. His 1999 collaboration with Method Man, Blackout, made The Source’s list of top-10 albums of the year.
But Redman doesn’t handle celebrity well.
“You’ve got to actually come up and attack me to get me to admit who I am,” he said. “You could turn me around and say, `You’re Redman,’ and I’d be like, `Where you see Redman at? No, but people say I look like him.'”
“If they fight with me on the like third time, I’m like, `OK, but don’t tell nobody,'” he said, “And I sign their shit all quick.”
As his successful tours take him to places he never thought he’d go, Redman said his love for bud has only increased.
“Yeah, they got the chronic out there,” Redman said about a visit to London. “You can go out there and smoke right in the bar, chronic, like it’s food. It’s like: White Widow, chronic, Afghanistan, hash. And it’s a menu.”
As for the women, Redman said London puts his GW experience to shame. But he said he’s understanding.
“Women show their titties out there (in London) much quicker,” Redman said. “If (Fall Fest) hadn’t been in the middle of the day, like later, if the sun was going down, you would have seen a cople of those honeys showing it like, `Here you go, baby.’ But it’s too bright, too early in the day.”
If his upcoming schedule is any indication, Redman isn’t going away any time soon. He has a new movie coming out with Redman called How High and is playing smaller shows to warm up for an upcoming tour.
How High is Redman’s first flick, and he said it’s funny. He said he brought his experience shooting videos to his silver screen debut and has no complaints about the rewards.
“This was my first movie,” he said. “It was just like a long video. You just act foolish. You’ve got to smoke a lot of weed. They gave us over 200 grand. I don’t know a.thing about acting.”
Redman said he has no aspirations to act full-time but isn’t picky about parts.
“As long as they bring checks I don’t care what it is I’m doing it,” Redman said. “I’ll play a doorman, I’ll play a pool man, work in a hotel.”
While he devotes most of his onstage commentary to advocating weed and taunting fans to show some skin, Redman offers a message he learned early growing up in Jersey:
“Try not to be just one thing ’cause everything you go for might not turn out to be what you want in the end,” he said. “You’ve to be versatile, really universal with everything. You’ve got to know a little about music, doctoring, fucking, clerical work.”
