In Depth - Milano Constantine

From his early days making music with the Diggin’ In The Crates crew, to his recent output of quality albums and beyond; Milano Constantine has always been supremely consistent and with his lyrics and flow over the past two decades. Rather than slowing down, he has been stepped up with the music he puts out, never comprising on the quality we have come to expect from him. He has recently released the album Eating But Still Hungry, a collaboration with Showbiz from DITC (and follow up to the 2019 collab album Boulevard Author) and it’s a feast for any Hip Hop lover. We caught up with Milano to talk the project, overcoming adversity, working on classic projects and future plans

Your new album with Showbiz, Eating But Still Hungry, is out now. How did the creation and recording of the album go?          

Let’s see, when it comes to it, me and Show, we're real methodical, so it's really like just throw it out. We had a bunch of loops, a lot of records that we went through, tons of crates and we would make a bundle of a bunch of beats. We'll go through them, check it out, see which are the best ones. We’d probably go through like 25, 50, even 100 records to make sure the top 10 are the best and even though it was through the pandemic, we were still able to correspond and he was sending me tracks. I'll send him vocals or we'll just go up to the studio and knock everything out, you know? It was a good process.   

So it was a mixture of doing it in the studio and doing it remotely? 

Yes, but he likes it like when I mainly get there and knock everything out, so I'll just go over the phone and probably kick him a verse and be like, yo, what do you think about this? He's like, yo, this is crazy. I can't wait for you to come to the studio and lay it down and we'll knock it out like that.  I'll go in there and knock out five songs. It's not too much, it's not crazy.

What has the feedback from the album been like so far? 

Oh, wow. It's been great. I was very happy with it. A lot of people love Broadway Joe, a lot of people love Save The Children, it's a good feeling when you write things like that and they come to fruition and people gravitate to them.

You also worked on the Boulevard Author album with Showbiz. How was the process of working with him on that album?

That was hard, at that time, because I was just getting over Hodgkin Lymphoma. I was going through chemo and it was a difficult time, but I was still able to pour my heart out on it and come up with powerful lyrics on Boulevard Author that I think stand the test of time you know. People will still go and listen back to that album because it was a great album. 

Did you feel that that was a cathartic process doing that while you were going through what you were going through?

I think it was therapeutic for me because I was doing The Way We Were, we actually did The Way We Were which was with DJ Skizz. That was 2017 and that's when I got diagnosed with it and me and Skizz wasn't even going to probably put the album out, but I told him, look, I don't know where it's going to go with this, with God's help. I wanted to get cleared up but if God has another plan for me, then I need to put this music out. You know what I mean? So we went forth with that. After that, we go into the Boulevard Author and I expound on it a little more in there. I didn't want to go too deep and make a melodramatic album, things of that nature, but I just wanted to express myself. 

How did you hook up with Showbiz in the first place to make music?

It was through mutual friends years ago. He always knew I had a talent, so it was probably around when I was like 12, 13, I would kick him. He'd be like, yo, you baby Nas! Like, oh my God, you're crazy! We finally got into the studio. We did two demos with 3rd Eye back in the day and we knocked them out of his crib and then I guess the rest was history after that. 

Do you plan to do more stuff together? 

Oh yeah, yeah. We're just gonna keep at it and keep knocking these albums out, give them, you know, eight to ten tracks in and out and, you know the beats. I believe that we’re even making our own sound for ourselves, you know, so I feel wonderful about it and as long as I can keep writing and God keeps blessing me, then I feel wonderful. 

You’ve obviously you've got a long history with Showbiz and Diggin’ In The Crates and you featured on their self-titled album, with the late, great Big Pun. What are your memories of making that track?

Wow. I remember me and Pun being in the studio, it was me, Pun, It was Sunkiss, O.C. and it was a battle going on. Had to be like 10, 15 guys in there and then at the very end of it was just me and Pun going back and forth. This was in D&D and at the end of it, Pun let off like a nuclear bomb, and I was just like, wait a minute, like you got it, you won. I never forgot, he came up to me and was like, yo, you know, I'm supposed to be coming in the studio Friday to do a joint with Canibus, but fuck Canibus, I need you to come in here. You the one and I just couldn't believe it. That Friday, I believe it was December 99. That's when we did Where Ya At. That's surreal, you know, it's surreal, yeah.

Going back to your music. You released the album Write It In Blood with Body Bag Ben last year. How has that record been received so far? It's a great album.

Thank you brother. Oh, man. I loved doing that album with Body Bag. He just hit me up. Shout out to DJ Enyoutee, he actually hooked me up with that brother and Body was sending me a bunch of things, a bunch of records and we were going through some things and it just started really organically. Then he was like, “yo, you want to just complete a whole album?” I'm like, yeah, let me bring two of my joints on it. Let me put some production to it. I did the cut off the album, the name of the album Write It In Blood, and I did Sparks Steak House. It’s really been received well, we're actually going back in the lab to do another. We’re gonna Write It In Blood 2 on ‘em! 

You released the Winston Wolf EP last year as well. You've been keeping busy with music during this lockdown!

These are things that I just knew that for me to resurface again and bring my name back up to, I believe, the forefront, you need to stay and keep putting these albums out. You really need to stay consistent. That's the name of the game and if it's real, people are going to love it and that's what I've been seeing and I'm just overwhelmed. 

Is there any other music you're working on at the moment that you can tell us about?

I’ve got a project called Block Work with a gentleman from Spain. His name is DJ Sweat . It's going to be remarkable and also a Big Ghost project, that I'm actually doing the finishing touches to one of the songs right now. Probably got like two, maybe three more songs and we're finished with that, you know, just staying busy brother. 

You have worked extensively with P Brothers. How is it working with them and how did you hook up in the first place? 

That was wild. That was through Facebook, that kind of thing. They shouted me out and they said that they love my stuff and when I heard their stuff, I'm like, holy shit, the P Brothers, they’re amazing! I got up with them through that many years ago when we did some of the Gas album together and it was remarkable. I didn't even know that my love travelled over the waters. You get it, I was just like blown away that I got that much reception from everyone over there. It was beautiful collaborating with them.  

Would you work with them again in the future and are you still in contact? 

Oh hell yeah! I'm just clearing up a bunch of things and I want to get up with them. I actually want to travel out there, you know, with God's help and how everything, is kind of funny now, but you know, we'll get out there. 

Did you ever make it over to the UK and to Nottingham to meet with them or was it strictly done over the internet?

Oh, everything has been like internet .I met them. They did come to the crib once. I forget when it was, a few years ago, they came to the crib. Wifey cheffed up a meal for them. We were just making beats in the back, listening to beats; just like real family-orientated man. It was a beautiful thing. You know, it was beautiful. They’re beautiful brothers, and God bless them for helping me in my career.

Were you aware of the Hip Hop coming out of Nottingham and the UK at the time? 

I did. Yeah, I did. I was well aware of it. I just didn't know The P Brothers was amazing like that. Their shit is another level of digging. 

What are your memories of working on The Gas album with them? 

 I think I was in a zone when I did Digital B-Boy because they sent me that beat and that's such a hell of a breakbeat. I was like, well I have to get on my b-boy stuff. My son was just born then so at the very end of the song you hear “B-Boy” and that was my son. It was really a family-orientated thing, when I got with them, I felt embraced and you could tell by the music and how it came out.  

What was the experience of working with the Beatnuts on the Milk Me album? 

Oh wow! That was wild! That was wild shopping, shout out to T-Ray over in Cali, he actually shouted me, he was out in Cali and they were in New York. He said, listen, I’ve got the Beatnuts, they’re in a session. Psycho Les wants to get up with you and Juju. I’m like, ok I’m going. I go to the studio and it’s just Psycho, he’s rolling up some crazy gas, some bag ass L, he’s playing mad music and he plays a joint for me and I was like, wow, that's crazy. He said Ghostface is supposed to get on it, but whatever, you want to jump on it. I'm like, yeah so he said, yo, come up with the hook, do whatever you want. I put the CD in the car. I think, probably like 10 minutes and I came up with the hook. I wrote the verse in my head the next day and I went back and I did the vocals and that's how it came out. I couldn't believe it and it was on the album. I said, Jesus Christ, that's the Beatnuts! You can't ask for nothing more. Showbiz, Beatnuts, Big Pun, Big L!  It’s an overload!  

Having that history, do you feel blessed to still be doing it this consistently so far into your career?

Yes, I definitely do because the funny thing is that I feel that I've gotten better. Sometimes I feel artists older artists for some reason they sound worse when they get older. I don't know but anyway, I think I've created a space where I just really comfortable. I know what I need to write. I know what type of production I need to be on. That's why it's just so seamless, everything I believe and I just thank God for my ability.  

How did you start rapping in the first place and who were some of your influences? 

I had to be what, seven, eight years old. I was writing poetry. I was sickly as a young kid. Almost passed away twice with asthma so I wasn't really able to go out and run around with the kids in the park and I would be sad. My mother said, well, listen, God has another plan for you. Don't worry about it. My father was very learned and was always reading like Langston Hughes, he was showing me all these books and different things. He said, get into the books. One thing they can't take away from you is your education and as I started to get really in-depth, I started to write real good poetry and I'm like, wow. I think it was The Message, Melle Mel, “broken glass everywhere”. I was like, wait a minute. They’re really pinpointing and breaking everything down visually so that you can see it. I'm like, wow, I know I can do that. Then Rakim came along, and KRS, then Nas and Raekwon later, it's those people you know. Earlier influences too like Super Rhymes This DJ Gets Down; I was really listening to all of that, going in and pulling out some of the vinyl. It’s in me. 

How was it growing up in New York, with it being the home of Hip Hop and the culture being so prevalent everywhere in the city? 

It's just within you because you could come out your building and you may see some kids breakdancing. If you did, you'd be like, what is that? I want to do that. You'll probably go up the block and everybody's playing ball, but on the ball courts, you probably got somebody tagging, so you’d be like, wow, what is that? I want to know how they're doing that. Now you getting into the culture. Now you listening to the music, you may even see a dude. He got a boombox as big as his whole body back in the days, walking with you, what is that sound that's coming out of that. It was attractive to me and that was something that I knew what I was going to be a part of. My brother was already in Hip Hop. He was doing dance and pop locking up the floor in the house, my mother yelling at him, things of that nature. It was just in me and my brother had the hip hop records. My father had a jazz records and my moms had up-tempo, old Spanish, salsa type of records and R&B so it was just a melting pot of all of that. The music's always been around here. It was just going to overflow and boil over. I knew that. 

What have been some of the highlights of your career so far? 

 I would say manifesting my destiny, saying that, wow. I would love to meet Pun. With God’s help, Can I meet Big L, can I meet these people? I can meet them with my talent and if you keep on with your talent and making sure that it's grade A and keep at it, and that's all I did, I kept at it. Next thing, you know, look, I'm in the studio with Showbiz, Diamond D, Lord Finesse. The list goes on, I'm in there with an all-star cast and I'm 17, 18 years old so it was just an overwhelming feeling to know that, with the powers that be, you did that. It’s just an overwhelming feeling. 

I would say one of the highlights is actually coming out with an album with DJ Skizz, The Way We Were because at that time I was in a crossroads with life and I thank God that he came and say, yo, let's go do an album. Shout out to Marco Polo who also joined in with that. I would say me meeting Pun and doing a song with him, me being with Showbiz, Fat Joe, all of them. Those are highlights and me to still be in the game now, 20 plus years is a big highlight and accomplishment so I'm grateful and I'm grateful that you're here interviewing me. Shout out to Children Of Zeus too, I did something with them. Very fly. I love those brothers. We’re gonna work on something in the future too.

Words by Gavin Brown