On March 9th 1972, Anthony Cruz was born in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York to an African-American mother and a Dominican father. Later on in life, Anthony Cruz would soon become the rapper known as AZ.

On April 19th, 1994 a young and unknown MC from Queensbridge, New York named Nas (previously known as Nasty Nas) released an album titled Illmatic, and this album would go onto to set the lyrical standard for years to come.

Although this album is considered one of the greatest in history, all critics shared the same views, that it was too short.

There were 10 tracks listed, and one of them was an introduction to the album, which consisted of talking and no music. So in reality, the album only had 9 songs on it.

There was only one guest appearance on this memorable masterpiece of work, and it came on track 3, titled “Life’s a Bitch.” The 22-year-old Brooklyn resident Anthony Cruz, known to his peers as AZ, made his mark onto the Hip-Hop stage by uttering these classic lines:

“Visualizin the realism of life and actuality/
F**k who's the baddest a person's status depends on salary/
And my mentality is, money orientated/
I'm destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it/
Cause yeah, we were beginners in the hood as five percenters/
B ut somethin must of got in us/cause all of us turned to sinners/
Now some, restin’ in peace and some are sittin’ in San Quentin/
Others such as myself are tryin’ to carry on tradition/
Keepin the schwepervesence street ghetto essence inside us/
Cause it provides us with the proper insight to guide us/
Even though, we know somehow we all gotta go/
but as long as we leavin’ thievin’ we’ll be leavin’ with some kind of dough/
So, and to that day we expire and turn to vapors
me and my capers-ll be somewhere stackin’ plenty papers/
Keepin’ it real, packin’ steel, gettin’ high/
Cause life’s a bitch and then you die/”

That verse would be the first recorded one in his rap career and also led to many arguments from high school lunch rooms, to basketball courts, to the projects about who came off harder, AZ or Nas. After AZ’s buzz was created through that legendary performance, he garnered a record deal with EMI Records for his debut album Doe Or Die, which was released on October 10th, 1995 and went on to sell over a million copies.

Continuing to make a name for himself, AZ joined the super group known as The Firm and it included fellow New York rappers Foxy Brown, Nas, and Cormega (who was later replaced by Nature). The self-titled album hit the stores on October 21st, 1997 and even with the album going platinum along with production from the Trackmasters (Tone & Poke) as well as Dr. Dre, the project was not as successful as anticipated, and the quartet soon disbanded.

AZ went back to his solo career, and the collaborations with Nas all but ended. He went on to release Pieces Of Man (over 438,000 copies sold) on April 7th, 1998, S.O.S.A. (Save Our Streets AZ) in 2000, and 9 Lives on June 12th, 2001 (over 435,000 copies sold).

On December 18th, 2001 Nas and AZ reconciled their differences, and joined forces on Nas’ on his fifth album, Stillmatic (derived from his first album Illmatic from which AZ was first featured) on a song titled "The Flyest". And Nas soon returned the favor appearing AZ’s Aziatic album on June 12th, 2002 (over 500,000 copies sold) the song was called "The Essence" and it was nominated at the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. But once again, their working relationship would come to a halt. Many hailed this album as AZ’s come back album, but he wasn’t satisfied with the momentary success.

In 2004 he planned to release Final Call but the album met its fate via Internet bootlegging, and A.W.O.L. was introduced to the masses instead on September 6th, 2005. The album made headway with the DJ Premier produced "The Come Up", and it was the first album to be released through his Quiet Money Records imprint.

With acclaimed success of that album, The Format followed on November 7th, 2006. One of the well known tracks included a song called, "Royal Salute", which was a retaliation song aimed towards 50 Cent for initially dissing him first on a song called "What If" featured on the Get Rich Or Die Trying Soundtrack. That brings you up to speed on 2007-08 where he is set to release his unprecedented 7th album, Undeniable. This is the diary of Anthony “AZ” Cruz. You think you know, but you have no idea.     

What’s good AZ?

I’m good right now man. I’m good.

That’s what’s up. So is there any reason why you named this album Undeniable?

Well I feel like I covered all ground right now, just like with all my other albums. I felt like they were deniable, and as for this right here, I just feel like its Undeniable to the masses.

I can dig that. So what can people expect to hear from this album?

Well I mean I’ve always been expanding with the flows. On all my joints you hear a new and improved AZ on every trip, so my fan base is going to know that they’re getting AZ to the tenth power.

How do you feel about your career right now? Do you feel as if you’ve been underrated?

It doesn’t bother me, but guaranteed I feel underrated. But I know I’m putting that work in, and at the end of the day I’m not going to feed into it. Because I know where I’m coming from. Some days are just a little lower than others that’s all.

I hear you. Do you think there’s any reason why you haven’t gained a lot of commercial success?

Well when you’re in this business, you got to know it’s a business. So there’s a thousand reasons why it didn’t pop off the way it was supposed to pop off. But a lot of it is the “powers that be” know what I’m saying. Certain things control certain things within the game that stops certain things. And at the end of the day, certain people that were behind me didn’t put their best foot forward at times; know what I mean. So it’s a lot of things, but as long as I still got my game tight, I feel good about that. 

What keeps you motivated after all theses years to still make music?

It’s in my blood man, I’m from Brooklyn, and I represent for the n***as that ain’t never coming home, and all my people’s that were lost in the struggle, so I keep on for them. Also for the shorties to catch on, because they’re running around wild and blind. So I just do it for the love of the game.

Your whole career has been based on lyricism. Do you think lyricism still plays a major factor in today’s Hip-Hop?

Right now it’s a fad and they’re doing all that dancing and all that chanting sh*t. But it is what it is, things grow and things change, and nothing ever remains the same. At the end of the day, everything turns around 360, so I’m sure it will come back around. And if you’re a real lyricist or just a real, dude you can understand that. Because sometimes there is going to be a drought, so you have to lay low and play slow until it comes back around. So it is what it is. 

With that being said, when you’re writing, aren’t you worried about some of the metaphors you use or some of the stuff you write about going over some people’s heads?

I think about it going over anybody’s heads, because I try to write it and shoot my lyrics and direct them towards those I need to touch. And I know from what I speak, there is a group of people out there and a fan base out there that is digesting what I’m spitting. I mean for those that it goes over their heads, is really their loss. [Laughs] 

[Laughing] Yeah I can dig that. Every time you release an album, do you feel as if you’re competing with the younger generation coming up?

Nah, ain’t no competition. I’m not doing it for the awards or nothing. Like I said I’m doing it for the real dudes in the street, and there’s a real struggle going on out here. And the masses are trying to blind the youth and turn them deaf and dumb. So I’m just trying to do what I do, and reach as many people that I can reach, to open their eyes up and let them join in on the struggle. Because it’s each one teach one when it comes to me anyway.

What would you do differently if you could go back to 1993-’94 and start your career over?

Every lesson is a blessing so I would change nothing. But I wouldn’t f**k with a lot of people that I f**ked with, you dig what I’m saying. [Laughing] It be the energy that you surround yourself with that f**ks you up, and f**ks a lot of people up, know what I’m saying. So that’s the only thing I would change, is my mothaf**kin’ surroundings.

How do you think you’ve remained relevant throughout the years?

I think I put that work in for real. Like at the end of the day, the average person only outs out 1-2 albums, even the greatest artists only put out1-2 or probably 3, and I have 7 albums out, so I stay relevant. I don’t sell a million, but I sell enough, know what I mean. It’s a good look, and I’m not mad as long as I keep it coming. And every time I keep it coming, it gets more potent, so I’m not mad.   

Like you said you come out with an album every year or year and a half. Do you ever feel burned out from releasing albums at that pace?

Nah, nah I’m like the sun, the sun don’t burn out man. [Smiles] The sun has been here for a billion years. I fuel myself. I’m like a car battery. The only people that burn themselves out are the people that feed off sh*t. I done been through enough sh*t, and I’ve done seen it all, and my bloodline is serious. This is in my soul; this ain’t nothing that I’m trying to make up like a gimmick, know what I’m saying.

On your song “Life On The Line” you have a line where you say: “Nas got rich and reached back/I ain’t rich yet.” Does it get to you sometimes that your colleagues have been somewhat more successful than you have?

Well I’m so in-tuned with myself, it’s like I have a brick wall around me. So as far as that statement I said: “Nas got rich and reached back/I ain’t rich yet.” Meaning it is what it is, he did him, and I’m doing me. I ain’t on the welfare line, but I’m doing me. [Pauses] I’m just giving that out to the people, and letting them know what it is. Because a lot of brothers say: “Yo what’s up with you and Nas?” And at the end of the day I say: “It ain’t me!” “It ain’t me!” Ya dig. I don’t want people to point the finger at me. I know what the fans want. They wanted something with me and him together, because they know how we get down. But hey, he got rich and reached back, I ain’t rich yet. You get it?    

I dig it. So what’s your relationship with Nas now? Do you plan on working with him in the future?

I don’t think the magic is there no more; it is what it is. If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, it don’t. It ain’t going to stop nobody from living, because everybody is doing them anyways so….

What are some of the things you don’t like about the music business?

Just a lot of hate in the game, and a lot of f**kin sh*t be going on. Me, I don’t affiliate myself with nobody in the music industry, everybody is out really out for themselves. I know it’s a business, but people put “cutthroat” before the business and then it becomes a “cutthroat business.” Everybody wants to win, but they’re in a race going nowhere, and the only way to win is to master yourself. They’re not looking at the bigger picture, [they] think it’s about selling a million records, and getting more paper and that just brings more problems. And if you ain’t built for the problems, you’re going to fall victim, and that’s why a lot of rappers are going through a lot of things right now. Where they want the power, and they don’t know how to use the power. They misuse it.  

Last year you had a song called “Royal Salute” where you retaliated against 50 Cent dissing you. A lot of people wouldn’t have responded. What made you respond?

I didn’t want to go at him, I just wanted to talk to him, but I guess that’s the only way we could communicate, so I just let him know. Like: “You can never f**k with me/so don’t ever f**k with me.” I wanted to say in the joint that money can’t buy you your way into heaven, and when you die you can’t take it with you. 

Ain’t that the truth. Were there any deciding factors that made you sign with Koch Records?

Actually it’s Quiet Money/Koch and it’s a distribution deal, and it feels good. I’m not signed to Koch; they’re just distributing my music. Like I said I’ve been on the majors, so now I’m just touching the independent world to see where I can go in up in this one, that’s all.

Like you said, you’ve been on the major circuit and now the independent circuit. Is there any one you prefer better? Or is it all the same in your book?

Right now I’m trying to feel it out, because there is loopholes in everything. Everything that glitters ain’t gold, so I’m trying to figure it out. But I get more creative control on this end and you get more buck for your dollar on this end. The only thing that f**ks up is that the majors put more money into marketing and promotion so that makes it more live. So on one hand you get more fame, and on the other hand you get more money, so you decide… Ya dig..