Lahdik of Midnite Bully

Words and photo by Gentle Jones


Midnite Bully is the brainchild of a Delaware family that has been making music since the 80’s, dropping full length albums and a wax single through the years. New Castle native Lahdik and his brother Jamaal Isaac teamed with Pablu to drop their first vinyl as Midnite Bully in 2002, but the history stretches back to when they recorded under the name Noitiloac with Wilmington super-producer Zig of MuZig Lab Productions. The crew has appeared on stage with veteran stars Nas, Rah Digga, and Gang Starr. After decades of work in the studio Lahdik is finishing up his first solo album and wrapping up the final stages of production.


Where are you from originally?

We're all originally from Delaware.


How long have you been making music?

My brother Jamaal Isaac and I have been making music since we were kids. I was around 11 or 12 when I started writing rhymes; Jamaal was around 8 when he started making beats. Then he started writing rhymes around 14 years old. So it's been over 20 yrs. He used to make the beats on a Casio SK5 and I laced the rhymes. We made tapes, and that's where it all started. We would rig two CB’s; one on the floor where I recorded my rhymes on my stomach, the other on a desk where the Casio was with the beat playing; and we taped the sessions that way. Our 1st group was Smooth N' Flowin'.. ha! It was mad fun, we've been making music ever since then.


What made you want to be part of the music industry?

The love of music, first and foremost. We started creating music cause we enjoyed it and were inspired by the greats of Hip-Hop and music in general. We grew up in the era where all (or shall I say most) Hip-Hop artists were original and wild nice. We truly appreciated and still do appreciate the art form of creating good music; and we soaked up the vibes of our favorite artists and made our own path. Music is in our blood, we have a family of artists from Delaware, Arkansas, to South Carolina and beyond. So creating music started from a pure place, the heart. As we grew older, we started releasing music independently cause we believe our music should be heard, it's “nutrition for the soul” which sounds cliché, but it’s real talk.


How many releases have you put out?

We've put out 4 releases. In 1998, Jamaal and I were part of a group-Noitilaoc (Coalition written backwards) The Tenth Planet. Along with Chopstix and Kab, we released the single '100%' in the summer of 08 and the album 'Chosen Men' in December of that year. In 2002, as Midnite Bully, our current movement, we released the single 'Open Bar'. Then in 2005, we put out a mixtape to get people ready for the Midnite Bully album 'The Grip' which we dropped in the summer of 06. 'Open Bar' was released on vinyl only, we dropped that strictly for the dj's. We still got a few copies left from that time, so all dj's hit us up for your free copy at our MySpace page (myspace.com/midnitebullythegrip).


What do you think Delaware’s music scene lacks?

It would be Kool in the Gang if we had more outlets as far as performance venues and just spots where good hip hop is spun on a regular basis. It would be nice if cats in general would show more appreciation for the cats who actually release albums, I mean this is a grind. But at the end of the day, we do music because we love to do it, if you support, cool, if you don't support, cool. Everything is everything. But DE is a small market...


Do you like the direction hip-hop is taking?

In hip hop there are many, various directions, not one specific direction. The good stuff that I like has gone so-called 'underground', but it's still here, man! What's mainstream now is more of a commercialized type of sound, but real good hip hop is everywhere, man, you just gotta go get it if you want it. I have no issue finding dope Hip-Hop music because it's still being made by a lot of tight artist.

What’s the best thing about Delaware?

I've been born and raised here and met some cool people in general. So I'd say the best thing about Delaware is my family lives here.


Who are your favorite artists from Delaware?

I dig Dirty Reddd from Dirt Network and I think Beats Unknown is an extremely dope emcee too. The 49ers...I've heard some of there new stuff too.. It’s hot butter. I think Professor Keys is dope on the beats, as well as The Main Ingredient to name a few. I mean its mad cats that get down that are nice; those are the ones that come to mind at this time.


What projects are you currently working on?

Currently, I'm working on my solo LP, 'The Portrait of a Man'. It will be out early 09. It's been going well too, I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to present myself as a solo artist. After that release, Jamaal Isaac is coming with his solo album, he just started working on that. But for now, we're focused on my piece. After that, we're going full steam ahead with Jamaal's piece. You'll be able to hear Pablu on both jawns! Jamaal and I have been putting the finishing touches on my piece. Cats know we're always down to perform, on stage we get down, it ain't no mystery. We just try to go in and blessed that stage so cats know that them Bully brothers put it down for sure.