For those of you old enough to remember, during the mid to late 90’s, there was a divide that was happening in hip hop. For a lot of people, rap music was becoming too glossy and polished (“the shiny suit era”). A new sub-genre was emerging. The independent rap scene. Some of these new “underground” artists ended up doing very well for themselves. Most did not. One of the many groups that stood out in this movement was The Arsonists. They had beats, lyrics, and an amazing energy. They made a conscious effort to represent all of hip hop’s elements, but without sounding corny or preachy. They showed people that you could “keep it real” and still have fun at the same time. It’s been a little over 20 years since The Arsonists dropped their first 12″. And now they’re back at it. They recently rereleased their debut album, along with unreleased demos, remixes and 6 brand new tracks. I caught up with group member D-Stroy last week to talk about life, the new album and some good ASF history. It might be 20 years later, but The Arsonists are still settin’ fires!

Spek27: It’s been about 20 years since the first Arsonists album. Why now?

D-Stroy: Well, some of us have been active, and no matter what type of success each of us has attained…from Q-Unique doing his stuff with Korn and P.O.D., and me doing my NBA and NFL stuff…you always have somebody in the crowd randomly like “Arsonists!”. Recently, and this ain’t bragging, I was at Prince’s house for Justin Timberlake’s event. These dudes were looking at me and were like “are you D-Stroy from the Arsonists?”. No matter what type of accolades throughout the journey, it’s been amazing that people will remember that. I had a Nike event and the people that booked me knew some Q-Unique verses. That’s pretty amazing.

Spek27: I gotta go back real quick. That was quite the flex right there. I was at Prince’s house with Justin Timberlake…no big deal.

D-Stroy: (laughing) You know, it’s a great thing. We all evolve, and hopefully a lot of us stay grounded and remember our foundation. That’s something I can never run away from.

Spek27: Speaking of people recognizing you, who was a random person to know who you were?

D-Stroy: Because we were underground, you think that everyone else isn’t paying attention. We were the yin and yang to Puffy. When we dropped As The World Burns, Puffy dropped his album. We were two different spectrums of the game. So when you have individuals that come up to you…it’s just funny. There were times when I did X-Games, there were Olympian snowboarders saying The Session sounded like it was on a cassette and that’s why it was dope. And that specific detail let me know they were genuine listeners.

Spek27: The 89.9 mix. I still remember buying that on vinyl at Fat Beats.

D-Stroy: See, that’s special right there. And that’s the reason why I remember my first Source magazine was purchased in Times Square when I bought UMCs on cassette maxi single. I remember those things. And that’s how me and you have that same love and passion.

Spek27: Recently, I made an Instagram post of a cassette tape that I recorded off the radio about 20 years ago. It was The Arsonists live on the Stretch & Bobbito show. The Arsonists were always known for their live shows. And even on the radio you always sounded so well rehearsed. Why was that element so important to you?

D-Stroy: Well, for me, I was naturally a kid that would stand in front of my family and perform for them. At school you get your friends together and do a dance routine. That was my thing. Also, Q-Unique was in the Bronx, he was watching it all go down. The first time that me and Q-Unique performed separately, I was still with Tony Touch, I opened up for the Furious Five. I was just raised around showmanship. I was a little kid but I always watched the showmen do it. James Brown, Michael Jackson, everybody that was doing it…Prince, George Michael. Everyone was giving you a visual show. And it became a philosophy. We knew our fans weren’t rich fans. We knew we were catering to the underground. So if you came to an event, why not give the audience the best for the money they paid? We cared about it. We rehearsed very hard. If you go on YouTube, there’s a video of us on the train on our way to Stretch & Bob, rehearsing that.

Spek27: So, As The World Burns comes out. And then a few years later the 2nd album drops, with some group members missing…

D-Stroy: You know, there was a moment that I can tell you… We were on the road for two years straight, coming home for like one weekend every six months. Europe was very good to us. Throughout all that treking and dealing with each other, you needed to step away for a bit. I had voiced that I already had these songs with Tony Touch, and that I wanted to pursue my own stuff. It was embraced, but from a far it was like “well, are you gonna forget about us?” It definitely created a weird energy at that time. It was no longer what I wanted it to be. You become older. People have different philosophies and either you continue fighting or you step away. And hopefully everyone else continues on the path of what they love as well. Which is what they did.

Spek27: Looking back, do you have any regrets? Things you might have done different?

D-Stroy: Things I might have done different with the group…I can’t really say. You gotta remember, when I was a little kid, 13 years old, I won a talent show that made it possible for five of my friends to go skiing. And I’m a kid from Bushwick. Skiing wasn’t a thing. I saw that as an opportunity. After that I meet Tony Touch and he brings me on the road. And then I thought I just needed a vehicle to create an opportunity for my friends to do what we love. And it started with The Arsonists, when we traveled to California to perform at a b-boy summit. It was kids from New York just out there on a dream. I was with my friends. My legit friends. I’ve seen them cry over cops fucking with them. They’ve seen me do a lot of wild shit. They were there for me. So, as far as regrets, it was a lot of fun. I had a blast.

Spek27: So, you were originally with Tony Touch, and Q was with C&C and then the Nomads. Has does it go from that, to The Arsonists, and then to Bobbito and putting out a record on Fondle ‘Em?

D-Stroy: The Arsonists originally was a bunch of guys in Bushwick. Knuckleheads doing silly shit. Then it came to a point where people were starting to say they were down with us. Neighborhood shit. They get hype. People used to say Inwas related to them. I used to have to tell them no, you can no longer say you’re down with us. So I eliminated all the ignorant cats and made it about being an mc or a dj. Q-Unique wasn’t down at that time. Kinetic came up with the name Arsonists. Then Tony Touch took me to a karate school, and there was a cipher. Q-Unique was in it. He tells me this story. He said I was saying some shit about being on welfare and everybody was laughing. Then, I went to a Death Row records dinner. Me and Tony Touch used to promote for Death Row. Murder Was The Case was our thing. When Q was in Nomads, they had a Death Row meeting. They invited Q and we met again. That’s when we really met cause I don’t remember the cipher thing. I told him what was going on with The Arsonists and he came over one day and just started living with us. And it worked out. Q was a friend of Bobbito, and Bobbito knew me through Tony Touch. Bob ended up putting our song The Session as demo of the year in a magazine. We were really excited about that. Then he asked me and Q to come out to dinner with him. That’s when he told us he wanted to put out the record. We were like “yeah man, you’re fucking Bobbito”.

Spek27: Speaking of demos, I remember Battle Of The Beats on Hot97. The Arsonists won, and then eventually lost to Jay-Z.

D-Stroy: That was a great moment for us. It was beautiful. It was amazing. We were about to do a soundcheck for a show, inside what is now the Gotham comedy club. Crazy Legs’ girlfriend was friends with Angie Martinez. That’s how the record got on Hot97. And obviously Tony Touch co-signed the record as well. It was odd, but we loved it. We were an independent group. We didn’t have money behind us. And here we are, going up against the Ranjahz, who were on Def Jam through Roc-A-Fella. We were all excited listening, and then we end up winning. Then the second week, we went up against Clones by The Roots. And coincidently, that weekend we were asked to be in their video as dancers. That was also through Bobbito. So we beat The Roots and we were pretty excited. That was a Def Jam record and a Geffen record. Then the third one was Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z against The Arsonists. There’s an interview with Angie Martinez where she’s on a balcony. She said that for that Battle Of The Beats, instead of Hot97 interns doing the voting, they had Roc-A-Fella interns up at the station. And Dame Dash had all this champagne. And he nailed it. He knew how to work the room. That’s a hustler move. We couldn’t even afford a Snapple to give to Angie.

Spek27: And then years later, the 2nd Arsonists album was realeased on the same day as The Blueprint.

D-Stroy: Correct. And also September 11th. Hip hop wasn’t really on everyone’s mind at the moment. If it did get any attention, it was a project like Blueprint. Matador was the record label. I love the label. They were very supportive and they treated us very good. They liked us. We had more of a punk rock mentality where we were willing to do shows.

Spek27: Do you remember first listening to the 2nd album?

D-Stroy: As someone who knew we weren’t on the same page, I was looking for lines that might have been thrown at me. I’m an mc and I know we had a personal relationship. And I know people are gonna ask “Where’s D-Stroy? Where’s Freestyle?” I was trying to find those lines, but what I did find was songs that I liked. They had a song with Psycho Les, that was a dope beat. There was a couple of joints. I used to grade albums like if it had 4 joints I can really fuck with, then I can keep listening through. I knew it wouldn’t have the wild, pyromaniac vibe. The humor that I knew I brought. So I didn’t expect that. I know them. I know their strengths. And it was also a moment for the other two members to shine. Swel and Jise.

Spek27: I remember the first time I saw you, post Arsonists. It was at a Busta Rhymes show. You were the hype man for Miri Ben Ari. That blew my mind. I was like the only one there saying “that’s D-Stroy from The Arsonists!”

D-Stroy: Wow! Exactly. That brings it full circle. That is exactly what would happen. BET awards in L.A. and I’m with Miri. It was a whole r & b line up. Somebody on the crowd yells out Arsonists. In your mind you’re like that’s fucking dope. It was a moment in time. We were invested in our culture. We bought the vinyl. We took trips. We read credits. It was a different type of supporter. That’s hilarious. I remember that, it was at the Electric Factory. A guy came up to me and was like “I love your energy. It was genuine”. And that’s funny that you were there, cause you see the evolution of it. And I brought Total Eclipse on as her dj because I was the hype man for the X-Ecutioners after Arsonists.

Spek27: For anyone who follows you on social media, your work ethic really stands out. How do you keep that up?

D-Stroy: I love energy. I love being around human beings. My parents raised me around a lot of people. My house was where the party was at. I was raised always wanting to be where the party was at. It’s just good energy when you’re out there doing something around people who are inspiring. Also, I know that it’s bigger than me. I just like to know that hopefully I inspire that other person who doesn’t believe they can attain certain success cause they were from whatever background. Cause they can achieve it. I’m living proof of that. So I do it for more than just me.

Spek27: And people definitely notice that. How do you stay humble after all these years? How have you managed to still be so into the culture and not become jaded by it?

D-Stroy: I know if I became someone who’s difficult then it would be a disservice to the culture. People like Lord Finesse made me wanna rap. And that brought me to every moment in my life. I just came back from hosting the Super Bowl. That all started from being confident as an mc. I just know I can’t be selfish. Look at me, I love hip hop. Like the song I did with Tony Touch and Dj Premier. People are like, why don’t you keep rapping? I love it, but I know that going in that direction is challenging. So I feel like there’s a lot of other things I have to achieve to show my peers that we can be great at anything.

Spek27: Another song you did that I wanna mention was the hidden track on Statik Selektah’s album. How did that come about?

D-Stroy: (laughing) Statik was like “Yo D, I want you to be featured on my album” and I was like I don’t like your music. He was like “C’mon, you’re my friend. How is it that my friend doesn’t wanna be on my album?” I’m like ok, if I’m on your album, it’s not gonna be about any thug shit. Cause I knew all those guys. I know everybody. And these guys are funny, but they don’t show it on record which really frustrated me. So I was like yo, I got a song about me taking a shit. You wanna put that on there? And it’s a hidden track because I’m from the fuckin De La Soul era when Prince Paul used to do shit like that. Find the shortest song on the album, put it on the back of it, and if people find it, it becomes a little extra special. The rest of that album is rap shit. It’s like hoodie rap, which is dope. But then you come across a song about a guy having to take a shit. I saw it as an opportunity to prove I’m an artist and I see it as an art. I definitely see it as an art. And I’ve had people quote shit from there. And it’s funny, cause they get it. They get that this shit is fun. It’s dope, we love everything, but I’m flowing on that song. I’m an mc on it. That was originally a song I wrote with Tony Touch on my Touch & D-Stroy demo. Rza used to tell me “yo, I love that shitty situation song”. On the demo. For years. Cause it was so different. An era when…nobody was talking about that. So when they played it, they didn’t expect it. But they knew my personality. Like if anybody is gonna do it, it’s that dude. And I love that Statik embraced it.

Spek27: I wanna go back real quick… You mention doing things “for the culture” a lot. And you know how corny that can sound eventually…

D-Stroy: One thousand percent!

Spek27: You don’t come off as corny though when you say it.

D-Stroy: You know why, cause I know I have a point of reference. People who know me, know they have a point of reference from me. Believe me, I’ve been around some really popping guys who said “for the culture” and I almost feel like it’s an insult. Oh, so otherwise you wouldn’t fuck with me. You’re just giving me a look “for the culture’. I witnessed that. I’m around a lot of heavy hitters. I get into arguments. And I know that you would, but you don’t know these people. And all jokes aside, there’s only a few representing at my level that actually have a backbone. We don’t need points. I don’t need people to like me in that way. I don’t jock anybody. I’ve called people out on it and I told them you sound mad corny right now. Cause you weren’t saying that before, and you done a lot of sell out shit to get to where you’re at. We don’t need your help now.

Spek27: What were some of your most cherished moments of your Arsonists career?

D-Stroy: The Arsonists career was amazing. I loved it. Like I said, I got to travel on tour for years with my friends. And none of them said no. They were always down. If I woke up hype at 3 in the morning…and they always remind me that was regular for me. I’d say let’s go run up a mountain or something wild. And everybody was down. That’s what I loved. Everybody was down to live. That was a great experience cause I did it with a kid I seen get punished when he was young. A dude who went through problems in the hood…and they also seen it on my end. I seen these guys go through shit. And we weren’t knuckleheads. We weren’t bad human beings. We were good dudes. It felt good to know I was on the road with guys that were good people. My most cherished moments was being in europe with my friends in front of thousands of people, doing what I love.

Spek27: I followed you guys from pretty much the beginning. There were originally 9 people in the group. Out of all the people that were trimmed down, it seemed like Kinetic still kinda stuck around…

D-Stroy: Kinetic was the best. Kinetic was my friend from 5 years old. He lived across the street from me. Bootleg cassettes, comic books, stuff like that. So, what happened was, right before The Arsonist got our record deal, there were so many moving parts. For all of us to be on the same page was difficult. And we were so young too. He was the first and only individual to be like, “You know what, I love you guys, but I can’t continue arguing with my friends. So rather than fight with people I love, I’m gonna just step away”. And I’m not gonna lie, I cried that day. It was real. It hit us very hard. He was willing to sacrifice fame for friendship. That was very big of him. And people loved him. The underground heads liked what he brought to the table. Yeah, he was one of those great individuals that bowed out and I tip my hat to him. I’m grateful to call him my friend. Like all the guys. That was a major highlight and that was also his exit.

Spek27: And he was the only one that left the group, but still made it on to the albums.

D-Stroy: That’s because of how he exited. It was like “Fellas, look at yourself. Before we all go crazy, remember you’re friends first”. And we were. For real. Swel’s older brother was my friend, and Swel came up through the ranks. Jise was walking on my block with his girlfriend. We were like “who does this guy think he is?” But his older sister was a hood chick. And she was his cosign. These guys, I knew them all before we started getting hype about making a group.

Spek27: So, the new album…it’s half old stuff and half new?

D-Stroy: Right. So there’s some rare, unreleased material on that 2nd cd, and then 6 new songs. That was created by us trying to give it a go. We got together, listened to beats, and said let’s pull this shit off. And Q-Unique brought Ill Bill into the fold, and Vinnie Paz as well, to be featured on these songs. Now we’re out here, we’re back together. Let’s give these 6 songs a shot. If people are into it, then we’ll continue to do stuff along the pyrobots brand.

Spek27: What are the biggest differences from 20 years ago to now?

D-Stroy: Of course it’s equipment. Another thing is the environment we created in. We were still learning. Now it’s great, cause we take all of these experiences and we know that it’s about just energy. What attracted a lot of people to it, in my opinion, was the energy and the humor. We didn’t take it too serious in the sense of trying to kill people. We cared about the culture, we mentioned the elements of hip hop. That’s what made us special. Now, we’re comfortable in our own skin. We’ve evolved, but our foundation is still there. None of us went “the jiggy route”, if that makes any sense. Even me, the level I’m on, I don’t cater to that.

Spek27: I’m hype to finally have the original version of Pyromaniax on cd. For all these years I’ve only had it on cassette.

D-Stroy: Nice! Yes! That’s dope. I just said to Q about an hour ago, what if we do another video to the original one? Cause we did the video for the other one. It’s fun to have these conversations to reinvigorate the time and the moments.

Spek27: You guys have been talking about putting new material out for a few years now. What took so long?

D-Stroy: What took so long was that it was released by another record label. I had to make sure we had the rights to re-release it. I was hype to do it for 10 years, but there was real business shit to deal with. But I stuck it out.

Spek27: Any tour plans?

D-Stroy: The conversation has been had, but I put it on hold. Only because I would hope to go on the road cause there’s an interest in it, because the fans are receptive. To hit the road and only have a few people in the crowd wouldn’t be the best scenario when you’re talking about this many individuals. So you just have to not get ahead of yourself and stay realistic. We are in 2018, you know?

Spek27: So what’s the goal for this release?

D-Stroy: The goal is just to give individuals who remember that moment to appreciate it. Like you said “I got the original version of Pyromaniax”. These are the moments I love. I’m still out here trying to get certain versions of stuff, cause that’s how we work. We just move that way. We’re all older now, so it’s a moment in time. I can listen to records and know that they make me happy because it reverts back to a scent or a time I was in a club and met this person. Music is a very powerful thing, and if it unites us, especially someone like you and myself…or like the guy at the BET awards that yelled out Arsonist…it’s a different bond. I know you’re not fake. I know you weren’t a fan of The Arsonists because of the glamor and glitz. You knew it took work to get there. There’s people out there that still love that moment in time.

Spek27: Last words?

D-Stroy: The reception on these 6 new songs, will mean more music. We already have a few more in the pyrobots chamber. So let’s hope that individuals like yourself go out there and hype it up, cause it’s our culture. If we don’t do it, who will?