Colossium Magazine September Issue_2019 | Page 50

COLOSSIUM: You worked with Damian Marley COMMISSIONER GORDON: Yeah, I worked with him in the past. We worked on the Welcome to Jamrock album. I met him through Lauryn. CLS: You worked with Lauryn Hill as well? CG: Yeah, on her Miseducation album. CLS: How was the experience working with her? CG: It was crazy…that’s all I have to say. CLS: You have a list of legends in your portfolio… you’ve worked with Quincy Jones, Diana Ross… CG: Here’s what’s interesting…I will say I have about 3 different lifetimes. I think I’m getting ready to start my fourth one. It’s like time period where there is a whole bunch of artistes in the period I will never get to work with again but during that time period it was almost like a life in itself…like the Diana Ross and the Baby Face time. By the time we got to like; Will Smith then it’s a whole different set of artistes…we have Nas and KRS-One…then that time also passed. Then we have a whole different time again with Amy Winehouse and that’s like a different Jazz sound. It’s interesting when I look back. It feels like just yesterday but also a long time too. CLS: And you started off as a DJ? CG: Yeah 50 | Colossium . September 2019 CLS: Tell me about that CG: I was about 17 when I started off as a DJ and it was a different set of people and experiences then too. I’m just grateful I’m still relevant and able to do music. CLS: Tell me about the time KRS One named you the “Commissioner” CG: I worked with him and his crew back in the days. I grew up in Bronx and we related to each other because we kind of grew up doing the same thing. I never liked the “Commissioner” thing because it’s like an old white man’s name. But now I have a new name… CLS: What’s that? CG: Kofi! CLS: Interesting. You’re a Friday born. Who gave that to you? CG: A friend of the family. I actually didn’t know that there’s a name for the day one is born. CLS: Have you done your ancestor tracing too? CG: No, I haven’t. I don’t know if I believe those things. Spiritually I think I know where I’m from. CLS: Where do you think you’re from, Ghana or Nigeria? CG: Hahaha I don’t want to start any troubles between these beautiful countries. I think I’m somewhere in between, I feel it. CLS: Let’s talk about Motown. CG: Ok, Motown Records was my first and major record deal. At that time I was an artiste. I actually started from a group; I never wanted to do it but I ended up in it. What happened was, my partner and I produced a song and we wanted it out there but the guy at that time who owned a record label and could push us got us performing the song as a group. I was 17 at that time. We did the song and it became a hit. The group ended up splitting apart, I got a production deal at Motown and the other two guys got a deal somewhere else. CLS: Tell me about you leaving university to study at a media school. CG: That was before my deal at Motown Records. The school was for recording so I left university to attend that school. CLS: Why did you leave university to that school? CG: From childhood, I have always believed I will do music. So when I found out about that school, I thought that’s where my path lies. Back then it was the first school that offered that engineering program and one of the guys who was in the same group with me had graduated from that school so he told me about it. CLS: How was growing up for you back in the days like amidst all the shooting that was going on? CG: Bronx at that time was probably like any other inner