Producer’s Spotlight: MIDIMarc

For my first Producer’s Spotlight of 2008, I wanted to bring some attention to my man MIDIMarc, who recently released an outstanding rendition of American Gangster, entitled American Beatmaker. This year, one of the goals I have for this blog is to help gain some exposure for the producers and emcees who work hard and deserve it. There’s a huge talent pool out there that need exposure and this is me doing my part for hip hop.

MIDIMarc was my first choice for the New Year because this man’s beats are extraordinary! Extraordinary in the sense that after one listen, you’ll have his beats stuck in your head for the rest of the day. When I contacted MIDMarc a few weeks ago to pitch the idea of him being featured in a Producer’s Spotlight on my blog, he was both humbled and honored. In actuality, the honor was all mine. MIDIMarc agreed to sit down and answer a few questions and the following is the conversation that took place…

Kevin: What’s up man? Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been in this game and how did you get into making beats?

MIDIMarc: Man, it’s nothing… thank you for all your support… I’ll always make time for your site. I’ve been making beats since Wu-Tang Forever was released; so that was the summer of 97 right? That was the album that put me over the edge on wanting to make my own music, but prior to that I was into DJing, and I was always digging through my parents records. I decided to take up piano, so my parents got me a keyboard. I would teach myself to play a lot of the songs playing on the radio, and eventually started making my own melodies.

Kevin: For those who are new to beat making, tell us a little bit about your process. Where do you get your ideas from? How do you go about digging for samples? What’s your setup like?

MIDIMarc: For me it usually starts with me listening to some old music. I listen to a lot of soul music and once I hear that one note that grabs my attention, I get to work. Mostly I chop and rearrange, but sometimes you find a loop that’s dope enough to where all you do is put some fresh drums and bass behind it. I get ideas from everything… and I do mean everything; from my favorite artist and producers, and even from a random song someone might be listening to in traffic. When digging through records, if I’m not familiar with an artist I pick the craziest cover art. My setup is nothing spectacular at all… some turntables, a computer and some computer speakers… lol… no flash at all. I have my programs on it though (FL Studio, Acid 4.0, Soundforge 6.0, and the Waves Bundle plugins).

Kevin: Who do you respect in this game currently and who did you listen to growing up? What artists do you draw inspiration from?

MIDIMarc: Honestly man, I have the most respect for the people who are of course making good music, but the people who are making good music along with having to raise a family, and work a 9-5, or both. So the people I respect right now are Ntelligence, DJ Dyce, Dan Johns, FatRat, Preach, and Jah Freedom to name some. I grew up listening to everything from Weird Al, to Wu-Tang… it never mattered what type of music it was. If it sounded good to me, I was on it. I draw a lot of inspiration from my favorite producers, folks like Pete Rock, DJ Paul and Juicy J, Jah Freedom, 9th Wonder, Mannie Fresh, Dr Dre, Timbaland… a lot of cats! lol

Kevin: If you had the chance to work with anyone, who would it be?

MIDIMarc: Hands down, it would be Biggie. He was the type that could rap to any kind of beat, and I can make any kind of beat.

Kevin: Yeah, that would be tight… Rest In Peace B.I.G. Alright, so you’ve remixed Jay-Z’s American Gangster and The Blueprint, Nas’ Stillmatic, and some stuff from GZA. Are there any classic albums that you’re thinking of remixing next? I’d love to hear your beats on something like The Game’s Documentary or Common’s Be or maybe even update an old school EPMD record with your mixes.

MIDIMarc: I would love to remix the Game’s album. I’d have a lot of fun on that one… hopefully someone will slip and put the acapellas out. Right now I’m remixing Ready to Die and Life After Death, so I guess those would both fall under the classic album umbrella… lol.

Kevin: Whoa, so it turns out we’ll get to hear some Biggie over MIDIMarc beats anyway. Man, I can’t wait to hear how those turn out! Personally, I think your American Beatmaker is one of the best that was put out. Ironically, it was the first American Gangster remix to hit the scene. How did you do it? How did you beat everyone to the punch and still put together beats that fit Jay’s flow just as well as the original? Did you already have some of those beats in the can or was it all inspired from American Gangster?

MIDIMarc: I have a friend that works at a record store who hooked me up with a copy of the acapellas the Sunday before they were released. I immediately went home and worked nonstop just about all Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday morning. I was able to put the remixes on the net the day the acapellas were released. I feed off the artist’s energy while I’m making the joints, so I guess thats how the beats fit Jay so well. When I’m remixing I make all of the beats from scratch, but some of the remixes were definitely inspired from the originals. On some of the remixes I flipped the original sample a different way. “Pray”, “Falling”, and “Roc Boys” used parts of the original samples.

Kevin: 2008 is looking to be a very productive year for you. You already have plans to release the second volume to your No Lyrics Necessary mixtape and there’s a rumor going around that you are about to step into the rap game. Let’s talk about that for a moment. Why step to the mic? What are your expectations as both rapper and producer? Do you think it’ll be easier or more difficult to come up with beats to fit your flow?

MIDIMarc: Yeah, my manager Jon Master and I have a lot on schedule for 2008. I’m piecing together the playlist and artwork for No Lyrics Vol 2 now. This go around the joint will be hosted by The emcee Ntelligence. Volume 1 had a lot of beats that I already made. I decided to make most of the beats for the new one. I think people will like what I’ve cooked up. The rumors are true… I’ve been working on a lot of songs, and I will pursue rap as a part of my career also. Lots of people have been asking me why I’m rapping. I can’t help but feel like my father when he decided to preach. I feel like I’ve been called to the mic, and I have a lot to say. I don’t really have any expectations as a producer/rapper. My goal is to get the same reaction from the lyrics that I do from the beats. Making beats for myself has brought out the perfectionist in me…. so it can get difficult. A song that I’m pushing right now can be found on my myspace page “Struggle Is Life”. It’s me telling a story about a real close friend of mine. It should give folks glimpse at what I have in the works.

Kevin: What else do you have in store for 2008? Are you satisfied with where you are now or do you think there are still bigger and better things out there for you? How do plan to promote yourself and get your music heard?

MIDIMarc: Man… there’s a bunch in store for this year. Be on the lookout for Ntelligence – Black Boy Lost – he’s an emcee from South Carolina. I’ve produced the majority of the project and I feel it’s some of my greatest work to date. As ridiculous as the production is on the record, Ntelligence still owns the songs. Once again I’m remixing Ready to Die, and Life After Death as well as Nas’ I Am. I’m also working on projects with CP, Dan Johns, Kwassi, and me and Ntelligence will be teaming up for the Rob and Big album. Even though I work just as hard as a lot of producers that are signed and backed by some form of record label, I’m still not earning a true living off of the music. So I’m definitely not satisfied with where I am at right now… so I’m going to continue fighting until I’m comfortable. I’m going to be doing some heavy promoting this year. More traveling, especially to beat battles, and I’ll be utilizing the Internet to gain more exposure. I feel like if I continue to bring people good music consistently I can’t loose.

Kevin: Sounds like a busy year! What advise would you give to an aspiring producer?

MIDIMarc: Make beats, and network. Don’t let these local rappers keep you to themselves, spread your music around. I think the most important thing to do is to listen to and study experience. Winners do what the losers don’t want to.

Kevin: Great advice. Thanks again for taking time out from your busy schedule. Any closing words? Anything you want the world to know about MIDIMarc that we haven’t touched on yet?

MIDIMarc: I just want to thank everyone who’s downloaded and enjoyed my music. Everyone’s who has ever sat in my car with me and listened to my beats with me. Shouts out to the greatest town in the world, my hometown Hopkins, SC.

Like I do with all my Producer’s Spotlights, here’s a sampling of my favorite beats by MIDIMarc…

• MIDIMarc’s MySpace Page
• Ntelligence’s MySpace Page

MIDIMarc Downloads:

• American Beatmaker (American Gangster Remixes)
• The NewPrint! (The Blueprint Remixes)
• The Day Things Got Ill (Stillmatic Remixes)
• MIDIMarc vs. The GZA
• No Lyrics Necessary, Volume 1
• Southern Comfort: 200 Proof

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