The Price of Thirst
Interview by Diego Francisco

W hile the many would argue that the obvious choice for heir to the “post Pun” Latino Rap throne would be Fat Joe . . . sometimes the most obvious isn't the best suited. After all, Michael Corleone handed the kingdom keys to ill-legitimate nephew Vincent while his seed went off to sing opera in Sicily . In the “rap game” there have been a hand-full of Latinos who have got their opportunity to swing at the plate. No one's hit it out the park yet, but some have got on base. In the past three years however, as it always has, the game has once again changed. It's no longer Latinos in the “rap game”. It's the Latino Rap Game, where timing is everything . . . and Thirstin Howl III has been keeping his eye on the second hand.  

LHHR: So at what point did you start mixing in Spanish in your rhymes? Was that from the beginning?  

THIRSTIN HOWL III : I did it from the beginning. People didn't get my music in the beginning too much, because it almost went away from who I really was. My stuff was so comical, but nobody really saw me as a funny person. I wasn't a funny person. But yo, I mean . . . it did what it did for me. I think that's the true skill of being creative and being an artist, to do the opposite of what you are a lot of times.

LHHR: Do you feel like anyone is really fuckin´ with you on your bilingual spit or your Spanish spit?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : Nah . . . I won't say that they ain't fuckin with me, but one thing I will say about the Spanish rappers because of they lingo they flows are crazy! The flows are even more serious than they would be in English. But as far as mixing it up in Spanglish I rarely ever heard anyone like me. Because for one I'm straight New York , na'mean? Like I can imagine what Pun would sound like if he did and all Spanish song. That's something we didn't get to see. I feel like that's where I'm at, like if Pun would have got a chance to do it. But as far as the way I do it, I never seen nobody do it like that.

LHHR: Have you done any shows in Latin America ?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : Not yet, but I'm sure they coming up. Right now things are going to go crazy for me in the next year in the Spanish market. Right now it pays to be a Spanish mu´fucka in hip-hop. You got a better chance of being a Spanish mu´fucka then you got being a New York rapper. I feel the game has changed to my favour, so I'm running with that shit all the way. I care more about the Spanish than anything. I'd rather do more Spanish than English right now because this is what's poppin' and this is what's gonna get all of us recognized as far as our people. We really need to crack that door and just rush that shit ridiculously to where we solidify it in here forever, for everyone who wants to come after.

LHHR: It's not like you can listen to Thristin Howl and say, “Oh Thirstin Howl sounds like he got a piece from this rapper or this rapper”. Was that by design?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : Yeah man you gotta understand this, um . . . I'm a rapper right, but I'm a hip-hop fan first, and I've had the chance to absorb every era of hip-hop. You know, I'm from the “Golden Era” and shit like that. It's against the rules to sound like anyone! People started breaking the rules and nobody abides by them anymore! You can not sound like nobody. You must be original, especially to be respected in hip-hop and to have your own identity. That's where everybody fucks up. I'm a real hip-hop nigga to where I abide by it. I abide by the rules, the commandments: you gotta be original , you gotta have your own sound, your own voice, your own flow, your own name, your own click, your own crew, your own whatever. I always been a leader. I don't follow what nobody else does. I helped influence this culture from the beginning! So how am I gonna come out sounding like anyone when I already had a big involvement and influence in the fashion and all that before I became a rapper. I'm gonna always be original. Two Thousand Six is my ten year anniversary as far as being a rapper. I think I've evolved so much as a rapper but I remain original: my style, my subject matter, all of that. I'm not gonna sound like nobody. I've read articles and shit that said I sound similar to this person or that person. I've heard people say that. I don't know how they get that. I get compared to Eminem sometimes but I mean, that's cause we came up together. We both influenced each other. But I ain't never bite nobody style kid. I feel like I got too many styles to bite anybody's style. I can do what a lot of people can't do. I feel like I'm the whole Wu-Tang by myself because I can do what each individual member of the Clan can do. I can even do similar styles to them. Not saying that I'm using they style but I'm that versatile.

LHHR: You've mentioned that you've been in talks with some major labels, but that they don't want to offer you what you feel you're worth, is that still the case? Are they still shopping you or are you staying independent for the moment?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : No, they come at me so much it's crazy. They stay coming at me! Through my whole career I've gotten at least three deal offers a year. Right now I have a couple of majors trying to get at me right? But the thing is, I want what I want. I'm not a greedy person, but like I said I know what I'm worth. The game is Spanish right now right? It's valuable to be a Spanish artist. I have a catalogue of albums, I have a finished book, I have a movie about my life coming out. I have never seen an artist that wasn't on a label be as consistent as I've been through my career. Anyone else who's been as consistent as me has had some sort of help from some sort of label. So to have the knowledge I have, to have the catalogue I have, and to be able to do the things I do . . . even in Spanish. Not only that, as far as the people are concerned I'm a street legend and that pays right now, to be a street legend! Everybody in the rap game right now, everybody wants that attached to they name. Even without a label I been here for ten years already and I have a fan base around the world. So next year is gonna be a crazy year. So like I say, it's gonna be a major. I can't get no further in the underground, I'm as high as I can go. There's only one place for me to go from here.

LHHR: I heard that back in the day you were looking to get at Jay-Z battling to test your skills. Did that ever happen?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : Yeah, I stepped to Jay-Z on many occasions to battle, and he always told me I can't fuck with him. This is on a street level, it wasn't like we were on a stage or in a studio or whatever. After seeing him more than two times on the street, he would never want to battle, he would always say, “You can't fuck with me” and shit like that. I respect him. His confidence is for real. One day I seen him again and I ain't even ask him this time, I straight spit. Matter of fact I think it was like 97 or 96 and Roca Fella was just born. I was running around shopping my demo to every label I could run up in and Rocca Fella was one of them. Back then you was able to run up in labels with out security and all that blocking you. So I went up to Rocca Fella to take my shit and Jay-Z just so happened to be coming out his office. When he saw me he came to talk to me, and I didn't even ask him or say anything I just started spittin at him and he spit back. He had no choice then.

LHHR: So what happened?  

THIRSTIN HOWL III : I mean . . . he spit back. He had to respect what I had, and I'm sure he even checked out my demo. I can honestly say that everything I was doing was on a underground level. I didn't care about mainstream songs or song structures. I just cared about rippin somebody apart with the lyrics.

LHHR: Growing up in Brownsville , how was that?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : What it was like? It was more rough than anything; as like the only Puerto Rican family in an all black neighbourhood, so I got tested like crazy when I was real young. By the time I became a teenager, once I hit like 15 – 16 they had created a beast. A lot of people was trying me, so I was trying them.

LHHR: You went on the offensive?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : Not at the beginning, but then I became the offender a lot of the time, you know? I was really on it bad, my ignorance was tremendous kid. Like they say, you learn you evolve and you mature. I believe I've matured. I've learned to accept people for who they are, and what they have to offer, not for they street shit strictly.

LHHR: Were those same people who was testing you later become cool with you because of the way you carried yourself?

THIRSTIN HOWL III : Yeah, yeah a lot of the people who tested me when we were young didn't get the same street credibility that I got when we were older. A lot of them weren't even on my level as far as the grimmey-ness of what we were doing on the street. A lot of them were pussies, you know what I mean? The people, who tried me, tried me because they had big brothers and they whole family lived in the projects, they had ten cousins and shit like that. But like I said, the way I grew up and the way I held it down, my respect level was ridiculous.

LHHR: Your worst chancleta story . . ..

THIRSTIN HOWL III : Being on Rikers Island and having to fight in them fuckin´ chancletas yeah! You know on Rikers Island the showers are so dirty that you have to take a shower with your chancletas on. You don't know what's on that floor or whatever. Imagine you coming into a new house and you trying to take a shower and niggas is wanting to fight you and you have to go all out with a razor and a soap dish in your chancletas.